Charles the Osprey – Consider

There is a story about Charles the Osprey that has to be shared. After a show played in a bar in their home town of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the duo found a note left for them on a bar table. The woman wrote that she “really enjoyed your obvious LACK of musical talent. It also really helps to play your bad music really, really loud.”

After listening to Charles the Osprey’s new album, Consider, I’m not really surprised by such a reaction. It’s not that I didn’t like the album – I loved it, in fact. However it’s the type of music that is experimental and unique – and thus totally polarizing.

I wouldn’t have a clue how to classify the genre of the music, so I’ll go with someone else’s description of instrumental spazz-rock. There are no vocals and the album is made up of Rafael Ohli’s guitar and Derek Lancioni’s drums –  sometimes in harmony with each other and sometimes at war.

The album opens with Scimitar Children and Their Rugs (all of the songs have similarly whimsical titles) which is a slow, jazzy track and the beginning of what can only be described as an odd, surprising musical journey. Second song Lipstick with Bull Tendencies changes tempo completely. It has all of the power of said animal, with strong stomping beats and tails of scratchy guitar.

Faster, funkier pieces like Hornets Don’t Have to Feint and the Idiran-Culture War showcase the interesting relationship between the drums and the guitar.

A big standout along the way is Lovecraft! Smile!, which I would describe as a scary space rock odyssey. Ohli weaves in and out of smooth, lingering notes and short, punchy, aggressive riffs with such abandon it will make your head spin, while Lancioni effortlessly matches the speed with his drums.

There are naturally a couple of tracks I cared for less than the others, but they all seem to fit together well to form a cohesive album – nothing seems entirely out of place here.

The best part about listening to the album is that these two musicians are totally on the same page. They interact with each other in a way that I doubt could have been achieved if the music were filled with other instruments. It is a mature, sophisticated sound that is technically accomplished while also being willing to explore new, undiscovered corners of the musical badlands.

This is music for art’s sake. Listen to it loud.