Bruce Lamont-Feral Songs For The Epic Decline

At A Loss Recordings 2011

It seems fitting that Bruce Lamont's album would be released on a label called At A Loss as I am kind of at a loss on how to take this disc. For those not in the know Bruce is most well known for providing vocals,saxophones and other musical contributions for unique bands Yakuza and Bloodiest, industrial act Circle Of Animals and one of the nations leading Led Zeppelin tribute bands Led Zeppelin 2. On Fear Songs For The Epic Decline Bruce uses saxophones,vocals,harp,percussion and loops to create one of the most interesting albums I've heard in awhile. "One Who Stands On The Earth" starts things off sounding like Native American tribal beats but with what sounds like a lonely saxophone solo at the end. Interesting to say the least. "The Epic Decline" flows in painting a picture of a post apocalyptic landscape followed by "Year Without Summer" which finds Bruce lamenting over an acoustic guitar amidst a background of noise. "The Book Of The Law" sounded like a score to some eerie old horror film. By this point I didn't know if I found this intriguing or just bizarre. I do know this album takes a lot of patience. I did enjoy "Disgruntled Employee" but I found myself wondering if things would ever grow into something I could grab my hands around. It's not for my lack of taste in the grey side of life ( I've enjoyed John Zorn's work) it's just that this never gets really beyond a shade of pale until the end ( "Deconstructing Self-Destruction" has a cool industrial metal tape destruction sound going on). By that point I felt exhausted. "2 Then The 3" closes things off a high note for me but I never got into the right frame of mind. As I said earlier I'm at a loss. Parts of this I liked. But taken as a whole this is lot to digest in just one sitting. I'm sure this will find a market (there's always a market for this type of music trust me) but for me it's not something I'd play more than once or twice a month unless I really wanted to drive my wife and kid's from the house!