We recently featured music the latest EP from Buke & Gase. Now I want to write about the exciting lead single from the forthcoming second album. It's called "General Dome," and I dig it.
You can't always judge a book by its cover, or a song by its title, but for personal reasons, I think "General Dome" is an awesome song (and album) title. The music lives up to my hopes, so let's talk about it. If previous posts on the band or they themselves aren't familiar to you, Buke & Gase is so named after their self-created instruments (a hybrid guitar & bass and a guitar-like ukulele), which, along with some minimal foot-driven percussion, they use to cultivate their unique sound.
Here, they create an edgy atmosphere, a foreboding maelstrom that lasts 1:20 before a human voice enters the fray. The rhythmic texture of the playing engulfs the listener, and during the moments when Arone reaches a near wail, it is dark and thrilling. I always found their music interesting before, but now it's taking on a new life that makes it more mysterious and captivating. It's even a little threatening, which I wouldn't have expected, though I am enjoying this added dimension. We may be going from marveling at the simple existence of their Frankenstein's monster of a sound, to being confronted by its latent fury.
General Dome will be released on January 29th via Brassland Records. It's not even available for pre-order yet, but keep an eye on the label site or on B&G's Bandcamp. I'll probably write more on this closer to the date, but a release show will take place January 30th at the Bowery Ballroom.