Colossal Yes

Colossal Yes

Exposed Prehistorics

Ba Da Bing!

*** Those who heard Colossal Yes' 2015's Surrounded by Progress, a tribute to Brutalism, won't be surprised by the synth-heavy styles found on Exposed Prehistorics. Those of you who didn't hear the last CY release, well, surprise! Exposed Prehistorics further's Utrillo Kushner's sonic exploration of the less humane art of the 20th Century. What at first sounds like a confabulated sci fi soundtrack reveals deeper meaning upon repeated listening, as notions of fascistic aesthetics, steely electronic glares and unforgiving chord changes form the basis for music you would hear as you helplessly watch others marching by.

Colossal Yes

Surrounded By Progress

Ba Da Bing!

Utrillo Kushner, main conveyor of Colossal Yes' ivory melodics and Comets On Fire's percussive juggernauts, takes Brutalism to new levels on "Surrounded By Progress," the soundtrack to a science-fiction dystopian tale yet to be written. The music here remains wordless and instrumental, interconnecting biological rhythms with a sky the color of a television turned to a dead channel. The initial rush of inhumanity disguises the human heart at the center of "Surrounded by Progress," a living and breathing document the Monks of the Order of St Leibowitz would deify up for endless study.

Colossal Yes

Charlemagne’s Big Thaw

Ba Da Bing!

After Comets on Fire played Auckland, Utrillo Kushner met one of his idols, the legendary DIY producer and songwriter Chris Knox. The following day Knox invited Kushner and his bandmates over to his house for conversation and beers. The afternoon was spent in the kitchen (Knox was baking a cake for The Clean's Bangers and Mash anniversary tour) drinking while Knox spun stories of the New Zealand music underground of yore. From this experience, Kushner conceived of the initial idea for the second Colossal Yes album.  Inspired by the Kiwi indie-pop formulas of Tall Dwarfs, The Clean, and The Verlaines, Kushner set out to write his own songs using piano as the main instrument. It was a reawakening of the pop aesthetic done Piano Man style. Recording of the basic tracks started in the summer of 2007 with Kelley Stoltz producing and Kevin Ink engineering. Songs were then fine-tuned over a series of nighttime and weekend sessions with Matt Waters in early 2008. Finally, they were mixed with Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) and Waters almost a year from the starting point.  The end result is unique yet similar to the epic pop bands of the past. Charlemagne's Big Thaw combines simple melodies and basic structures with lyrical territories such as expired youth, grand betrayals, overdrawn faculties, and dissolving empires. In this regard, Kushner pays respect to songwriters like Robyn Hitchcock, Dan Bejar of Destroyer, and Alex Chilton while also incorporating the honesty of Graham Nash's Songs for Beginners, the romanticism...

Colossal Yes

Acapulco Roughs

Ba Da Bing!

Widely known as the ‘drummer dude’ in Comets on Fire, Utrillo Kushner’s musical talents range far beyond the drunken-master-style wailing he unleashes on any given night with the Comets. It’s his skills as a songwriter and bandleader that impress on the sentimental rock stylings of Acapulco Roughs. Having tickled the ivories for close to a decade, Kushner assumes command of the keys in Colossal Yes and steps it up as a full-fledged piano man. The songs on Acapulco Roughs have existed in Kushner’s mind for years, heard only by a few close friends on home demos or at one of a handful of solo shows. Far from their humble beginnings, these simple piano chords and melodies have morphed and developed over the years, reaching maximum clarity on the Acapulco sessions.  Acapulco Roughs is so pure, so honest, that it risks a headlong dive into cheeseville. Kushner repeatedly urges his side men to ‘play how you think Mark Knopfler would play!’ and rallies his players with calls for ‘More Fozzie Bear!’ when the group loses focus. The risks are obvious, but the payoff is ever greater chooglin’. In fact, the two elements that should damn this album to lite-rock purgatory - unabashed sincerity and piano-playing - miraculously work to its advantage. Somehow, when untainted musicianship meets earnest presentation something happens, and the results are damn good. Maybe it’s just the joy of creation. If you haven’t guessed yet, this is the ‘70s. The idealized, mythological ‘70s, where you’re not sick of great...