The Primal Barber Trio
BARBERBarberbarbr
Deserted Village
(2014)
Every now and then, a record just drops out of the blue and sucker-punches you, leaving you sitting on the floor in a daze, trying to figure out what had just happened. BARBERBarberbarbr by The Primal Barber Trio is possibly the best example of this kind of record. Every single sound heard within the entirety of the EP’s 20 minutes is somehow uttered acapella by the mouths of Gavin Prior, Stuart Geelon and Aonghus McEvoy. Living up to the name of the group, it is certainly primal. Reaching somewhere between the wilder moments of Cromagnon’s Orgasm album, Amon Duul’s Psychedelic Underground and Ron Geesin’s Music From The Body.
During the first few minutes or so of multiple layers of grunts, snorts, growls and various other indescribable human noises, the listener may be puzzled, might chuckle a little here and there out of confusion, but by minute six, one gets pulled in and transfixed. Moans and drones at this sixth minute take on a hypnotic effect which sets the listener into a lulled, slightly comforted state until minute 10 begins with unearthly screams and shattering screeches. I don’t want to ruin the rest of this ride, but the remaining 10 or so minutes of this piece are equal parts exhilarating, intriguing and frightening.
This entire release is just so interesting and intense. The sounds that are created by the trio of voices as well as the layering and production techniques used are all nothing short of impressive. It’s not as much an EP as it is an experience and it’s one that must be taken as a whole. I hate to use this cliche, but this track needs to be heard from start to finish, in order to be truly believed. No other album really comes close to what this record is. Words can only describe so much. All I can say now is if you have a taste for the unusual and the original, you can do no wrong by checking this out.
An added note, I think any listener can agree that the Dungeons and Dragons-esque monster drawn for the cover accurately depicts what kind of creature might make the sounds heard on this recording.
Record Crates United 