Dialmentia

Dialmentia began a bit aggressively for my taste--collective finger-snapping, loud drums, and shouting brass--no matter how much I turned the volume down, this band still seemed too huge. Passages on the CD ("Hanging by a Thread" for one) were more serene, but Davies still seems intrigues by sheer sonic force. His shouting "Caravan (-dalized)" will appeal to people who like Swing Era originals modernized, and this result is far better than its self-mocking title would suggest. But I'm ready to forgive him his excesses for a composition called "Gubernatorial Recall," which has an irresistible rock, and the brooding performance of "Elegy" that ends the disc. And even though I didn't much like the composition, I admire a man who will title an original song "Katie's New Handbag." That I find Davies' band overwhelming may say more about my ancient taste than the quality of his enterprise: listeners should decide for themselves. As for me, I'm going to bask in Johnny Hodges improvising on "The Farmer in the Dell," circa 1938, instructive and restorative both.