The distressed young lady depicted in Carla Leighton's cover art, recalling the comic book-derived imagery of early-'60s Lichtenstein, might suggest that listeners to this CD would be in for a severe sonic bludgeoning. The truth is, though, that nothing here approaches the extreme pounding administered by Icebreaker in their rendition of Louis Andriessen's Hoketus on the Rogue's Gallery CD (or the same piece performed by members of Icebreaker and Bang on a Can on the latter's Gigantic Dancing Human Machine). So who might listen to Cranial Pavement and respond by yowling "AAARRRR" with tears running from squeezed-shut eyes? For one, those who believe classical, jazz, and rock music should never be thrown together in the same mixing bowl. Of course, there's plenty of evidence to support that stance; one need look no further than prog rockers like ELP tackling Mussorgsky or Kronos Quartet grinding out Hendrix to realize that a rock band seeking classical legitimacy or a classical string quartet prowling the alleys for street cred can produce mixed results. In the case of Icebreaker, however, these are not rockers subverted by empty exhibitions of technique or classical musicians performing bowdlerized versions of pop hits. For one thing, they choose their material wisely, in this case one of Conlon Nancarrow's Studies for player piano arranged by Icebreaker co-founder James Poke and three lengthier pieces by modern contemporary composers John Godfrey (the other Icebreaker co-founder), Yannis Kyriakides, and Richard Craig. And that contemporary sensibility is key, as is the fact that these compositions are ideally suited to Icebreaker's 13-piece configuration of electric and acoustic instruments, not to mention the ensemble's "contemporary music with balls" sensibility.

1		Study No. 2B (arr. J. Poke)
2		Gallows Hill
3		Blind Spot
4		Chook
5		Mrs. B's Love Triangle
6		Tango to the Death
7		In Memoriam Brutus (The Thai Curry)
8		Cranial Pavement - Digital Booklet

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