Captain Beefheart once famously said: “A carrot is as close as a rabbit gets to a diamond”. But he was wrong. “Rabeat’s Cage: Première évasion”, a ten song sampler, elegantly disproves his theory by unearthing some true carrotty gems from the Oxford scene (with some assists from Paris).

At this point I should correct myself. While I just wrote it was a sampler to promote the artists’ work, Rabeat’s Cage is thought out very much like a proper album, rather than a collection of songs. The first three tracks fuse beautifully into each other, sharing not only the same key (slash relative minor) but a melancholic aesthetic that pervades the rest of the album.

The songs are excellently varied, extremely atmospheric and universally eccentric (like Mr Rabeat himself), encompassing electronica, rock, jazz and more. The main interest, and link between the songs lies in the lush harmonic blends created by each different instrumental combination. Piano with strings, guitar, harmonica, keyboards etc all fuse to create as Mr Rabeat says “a bit of magic in the ears”. Whether jagged vocals, abrasive beats or string quartets are your cup of tea or not, the songs all deliver in its particular way, as I shall describe:

First song of note is the hauntingly melancholic ‘Antidote’ by Eberg, where piano and accoustic bass oscillate between chords like a slow pendulum marking time before the singer’s demise. Two voices, one voice with a helium effect, describe a mysterious death/suicide scene between two people for whom there is no hope, as a harrowing refrain of “someone should hold you tighter than I do” floats ethereally in and out of the song. Morose violin (viola?) and electronic beats add texture. In short: artful, powerful, sad, brilliant.

Next up for scrutiny is the excellent ‘Je ne sais pour qui je pleure’, by Azad. The title is an cute pun, meaning “I don’t know who I’m crying about” rather than “I don’t know why I’m crying”. This song lies firmly in the realm of jazz and features clarinet, picked electric guitar and drums with brushes. In a word, this song is the best example of leaving musical space that I can think of. It is leagues apart from the sort of up-its-own-arse jazz, characterised by an endless diarrhoeia of breathless improvisation and incomprehensible noodles. You hardly notice as the song creeps up on you at the outset and at the end as it seeps away into melancholic oblivion. But every note is expertly placed and timed, and does things that regular rock beats can only dream of. Plus, the tune is killer. Simple, extremely elegant, bliss.

Other songs include ‘Knowing How To Carry’ by Hreda, another downbeat number that slumbers edgily along with cello, guitar etc, until a minute from the end, where it suddenly bursts into life with metallic glory, crowning a musical theme that had been building up. In this way it satisfies, unlike Radiohead’s We Suck Young Blood off Hail to the Thief, which fails to follows through. Even within the trio of more electronic-based songs by NeOr, Tam Rush, and Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element there is a great diversity. Sunnyvale delivers a shower of assorted pick-and-mix beats, combined with electric guitar for extra texture; Tam Rush a stranger, more Mouse On Mars-flavoured effort; and NeOr a spaced-out funk number with a more straightforward beat.

All in all, it’s a treat. The other numbers are just as good, and if the Rabeat has any more time on his hands to dig up some more corkers, as he wiles away his sad, lonely days in his hutch, I would definitely be up for hearing them. Bring on the Seconde évasion. And the troisième…

Rabeat’s Cage Myspace

By B.M.