Frog's Eye

New music isn’t easy, but Bang on a Can member Evan Ziporyn has a very light touch in these four compositions, especially “Drill,” which often seems to float on squirming little wiggles of melody, with Ziporyn himself playing bass clarinet. The moods among the four pieces here vary tremendously — “The Ornate Zither and the Nomad Flute,” for example, uses a piercing soprano for its words, while “Frog’s Eye” broods atmospherically. Everything shows great sophistication, themes and counter-themes filling in and out to build to a crescendo, with complex harmonies and dissonances. How much of a major figure Ziporyn will become remains to be seen, but on the basis of this work, the future looks very bright indeed. – Chris Nickson