Broken Water – Seaside & Sedmikrásky 12” (self-released)
On the heels of their second album Tempest comes a new EP by Olympia’s steadfast ‘90s reinterpreters Broken Water. Two long songs here, drawn from the same session as Tempest, and Kickstarted for release by the band themselves (scratched-out Hardly Art matrix numbers may have been included for effect). “Seaside” features a cellist, and was performed at some length during the show I caught of theirs earlier this year. It’s not a real rousing one, kind of in the long and meandering direction of Unwound ca. Leaves Turn Inside You, though over its 15-minute runtime it’ll wear you down into acceptance, and builds up a decent amount of power for a song that sounds like it can’t get out of bed. “Sedmikrásky” is some manner of live improvisation, allegedly recorded while the band members were hallucinating. If it’s 2012’s answer to “Cliff Dweller Society,” we can at least be fortunate that the jazz leanings of that track are never followed through here. I can’t even begin to tell you why this works, but for something that is based on the riotous Czech New Wave film “Daisies,” there is a fair amount of trio interplay towards the second half that shows inspiration and togetherness rising up out of discord and tomfoolery. This wouldn’t be my go-to Broken Water record for unfamiliar listeners (just go straight to their Peripheral Star EP), but it does show a side of them that might not otherwise have been revealed. (http://www.discogs.com/Broken-Water-Seaside-And-Sedmikr%C3%A1sky/release/3603929)
(Doug Mosurock)
