Now before getting into this record, firstly, I've got to impress upon you where this band are coming from. Their first record Choirs of the Eye was released in 2003 on John Zorns Tzadik label. Now therein lies the clue. Mr Zorn is famous for all things avante. Kayo Dot are just such a band. The brainchild of Toby Driver; formally of the band Maudlin of The Well, Kayo Dot are a very curious and intriguing musical object. Spanning genres with complex precision, Blue Lambency Down takes elements of heavy metal and psychedelic rock, fusing them with fantastical pieces of classical and jazz music that belong in some eastern European art house film. There is such care and attention to this genre hopping that the songs naturally flow, albeit with disorientating and sometimes asphyxiating ease.The album can be hard to grasp, and the music is difficult but that is its brilliance. I can't quite think of what to compare this record with. Its heaviness parallels bands such as Isis and Battle of Mice, but the arrangements are more similar to avante classical. But that is the only real tangible comparison I can draw. The rest jus feels like I've fallen down the rabbit hole and am drinking broth with some crazy hat wearing person, but the hat isn't a hat it's a murderer, then I'm suddenly in a dark place where the storms are brewing and the cliff edge is near. Safe to say Blue Lambency...is full of abstractions.But despite all this the music flows and when the vocals arrive, on songs such as 'Right Hand is the One I Want' or 'Symetrical Arizona', they are warm and inviting, and loaded with emotion. However the lyrics speak like a mystic wizard ("The beetle rolled over and time stopped, suddenly the gospel pages multiplied, and my entire bookshelf reversed itself" - 'Clelia Walking'). This lyrical ambiguity is all part of the strange hallucinogenic world that is Kayo Dot. The shapes are continually changing and the form is never really familiar, but you go with it. It's a journey that some may not enjoy but you can get a lot out of it if you delve in. I love music that does this to me, rather than just quietly heading for the chorus you actually sink through the floor.This is a perfect example of things not making sense, making sense. A sometimes clash of realities and sometimes connection of realities, there is magic in this band. If you like your music to be progressive and to challenge you then Kayo Dot! Nothing will necessarily become clear, but there's a sense of clarity in that, isn't there? 80%Links Kayo Dot [myspace]