RADinc. harnesses their creative energy well.

Their attire is nothing to celebrate. The drummer, Kevin Shea, wears a red baseball cap that casts a shadow over half his face and a black oversized shirt. The keyboardist, Matt Mottel, wears a blue bucket hat that covers his long brown hair and a loose button down.

They feed off their energy, glance at each other for cues, manage a few quick laughs, and immerse themselves in their own Antarctica.

Their multi-textured music is hidden underneath a clattering ensemble of sound. It seems at times to have no intention. Their two-part set features eight instrumental songs that make us feel something before they can make any sense of their own.

From Talking Heads’ synthesizers that waver and distort, to Sonic Youth’s percussion that sustains and frustrates, Talibam! is able to, “confront the establishment of culture.”

This streamline performance immerses the audience into Antarctica. The disoriented- pixilated- and saturated pictures on screen crackle like an old newsreel. Their meaning is very much up for interpretation. It leads us along in some hazy form of retrospect.

From tranquil mountain peaks- dancing Oompa Loompas- and waddling penguins- to fist-bumping soldiers- floating baby dolls- and drunken hippies- Talibam! creates an out-of-body experience.

The disoriented, pixilated, and saturated pictures on screen crackle like an old newsreel. Their meaning is very much up for interpretation. It leads us along in some hazy form of retrospect. From tranquil mountain peaks, dancing Oompa Loompas, and waddling penguins; to fist-bumping soldiers, floating baby dolls, and drunken hippies, Talibam! creates an out-of-body experience.

Mottel calls their performance, “An alternative political vision, which was matched by our cultural determination to provide an alternative to the landscape of music and performance we were surrounded by.”

Formed six months after the start of the second war in Iraq, Mottel and Shea have developed a unique sound that dares us to ask the age-old questions, search for a resolve, and work towards political change, without mouthing a word. Mottel and Shea are interconnected with the audience. The show ends with Mottel throwing a baby doll into the crowd.

The post Witching Hour: Talibam! Endgame of the Anthropocene @ RADinc. 10/20/2017 appeared first on KRUI Radio.