Upsilon Acrux – Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum / 2004 Planaria / 11 Tracks / http://www.geocities.com/klaus0101/UPSILON.htm / http://www.planariainc.com / Reviewed 26 December 2004
Starting out with a double-bass drum line that is more reminiscent of dlack metal and Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir than anything, Upsilon Acrux’s “Oaxaca” is a tour-de-force, seeming more like the instrumentation of a Frank Zappa album than anything. Not needing anything in the way of vocals to properly affect their listeners, Upsilon Acrux creates tracks are that symphonies in themselves, each containing a host of different movements and moods, passions and the like. “Ballet Instructor/ Dracula” immediately works on three levels – the time-keeping of the synthesizer plays at the lowest level with the staggered drum beat struggling alongside the guitar line for dominance. What comes through is a mellifluous harmony of instruments, a totally-trippy track that has a myriad of meanings the deeper that one listens. The stop-start nature of “It Takes a Nation of Unicorns” replicates channel-surfing, with each different line of song they follow representing a different station.
Even if the instruments are the most polished that I’ve heard, the most immaculately arranged, there is some semblance of humanity imbued on these tracks. The spastic nature of each track is a good stand-in for the fickleness of humanity; the hundreds of directions that Upsilon Acrux takes in every track is just the musical equivalent of ADD. Topping out at over forty minutes, “Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum” has deftly maneuvered the straights of mediocrity and uninteresting-ness, providing their listening audience with an album that will work equally well for those individuals who wish to zone out as those who want to get riled up – this album is the ultimate in choose your own adventure books. Disco/funk (with the proper little bit of electronic fuzz) bass lines push forward the aptly-named “Valence Electrons”. When the disc limps over the mid-way point with the monotonous, droning, and dare I say it – annoying aforementioned track, the entire mood of “Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum” changes.
“”When Satan Ruled The Ocean Jesus Made My Fish Tank Boil” is a track that is made all the more strong by the weakness of the previous track, and the sheer expanse of sound on this track is just another reason why Upsilon Acrux are the premiere band doing psychedelic/progressive rock in this current period. The disc may have its few jags and weak spots, but overall Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum brings listeners on a journey that should leave their minds much more open than when they started.
Top Tracks: 45 Rodents, Ballet Instructor/Dracula
Rating: 6.2/10