olson_jr
Lunatic Member
One of the most promising bands on Chicago's experimental rock and new music scene in recent years, Darts & Arrows vaults into the forefront with its third album, "Altamira." Produced by Matt Lux (Rob Mazurek, Iron and Wine) for ears&eyes Records, it is the quartet's most fully realized effort, retaining the edgy vitality of their improvised work while painting beautifully textured sonic pictures on a series of through-composed pieces.
Led by songwriter-guitarist Bill MacKay, recognized for his "abundantly inventive" music by Chicago Reader critic Peter Margasak, the quartet, featuring keyboardist Ben Boye, bassist Kyle Hernandez and drummer Quin Kirchner, expands its sound on three compositions with the addition of violist Renée Baker, both a member of the vaunted AACM and former principal player in the Chicago Sinfonietta, and alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, heard with Ken Vandermark's Chicago Reed Quartet on the recent album, "Western Automatic."
"Altamira" basks in mystery, conjuring visions of cool nightscapes, dreamy cloud formations and lightning storms. You can hear traces of flamenco and film noir, boom box rock and classical recitals, nursery rhymes and spiritual encounters. Among the highlights is "The Well-Wishers," adapted from MacKay’s string quartet of the same name, first performed by Renée Baker’s Chicago Modern Orchestra at the Conjuring Solids Festival: Strings Fluxus in 2014.
