Nine For Victor

The No-Neck Blues Band performed at the 2005 FIMAV festival and, like Wolf Eyes (see Black Vomit) that year and My Cat Is an Alien (see Il Suono Venuto Dallo Spazio) a year later, they came out of the experience with their best-sounding live recording to this date. The festival's commanding experience in live sound capture is clearly a bonus asset for experimental noise/psych bands such as these. Of course, good sound is not everything. The group gave a very convincing performance under optimal conditions, bewitching the audience with its ritualistic music and puzzling stage antics. The latter dimension cannot be documented on compact disc, but, to make sure that this special recording would translate into a special listening experience, N-NCK edited the performance, keeping only three-quarters-of-an-hour and shaping that chunk into nine discreet spontaneous pieces. As a result, Nine for Victor stands as the group's most focused effort yet, not mentioning its easiest to listen to. Every musician's contribution (they were a seven-piece that night) can be clearly followed from beginning to end. Highlights include space rockers "The Cacao Grinder" and "Brain Soaked Hide," and the slow-burning "Lady Vengeance," but the album is very strong as a whole. The only minor flaw is the two-minute postlude "Tonsillar," slightly irritating after the blissed-out moments of "Brain Soaked Hide." Nevertheless, Nine for Victor may very well grow to rival Sticks & Stones as the definitive N-NCK statement. In any case, it is mandatory listening for fans of the band and an excellent place to start for newcomers. ~ François Couture, Rovi