Cy Dune, No Recognize (12" EP)

It can feel clumsy to write about a record to which I made even a small contribution, and I recorded basic tracks for one song on 2013's No Recognize.  Cy Dune's Seth Olinsky, who also plays in Akron / Family and sometimes with Rhys Chatham, plays most of the parts on No Recognize, and his personality shines through it.  The simple, blues-based songs range from heavy and full-bore rockers to somewhat more spacious arrangements.  All of the songs employ blown-out and exaggerated sounds in their bright and present mixes, even in the more open parts of the EP.  The vocal melodies are consistently melodic and memorable, despite playing a background role to the propulsive music.  It's also impressive how much drive the guitar creates, through aggressive playing and distorted sounds — only "Move the Room" has a propulsive drum part to carry it.  The variety of material leads to No Recognize flowing slightly awkwardly between the songs, as it moves from dense to sparse and back over six short tracks.  The murky cover image of Olinsky emphasizes both his close involvement with the material and its smeary nature.