b o b

I decided to order this disc after finding a copy of U Totem's self-titled first album in a used CD store and liking it a lot. I guess this band fits into the category of RIO, although I'm still not sure I have a good grip on exactly what makes something RIO. Generally, it seems things that sound highly "experimental" and don't fit into any other categories get described as RIO. If that's the case, then this disc definitely qualifies. On first listen, the album seems to be almost totally random sounding. There's very little that approaches a regular rhythm, although there are a couple notable exceptions. I'm not talking about odd time signatures here, I'm talking about no signature. Well, there's probably one buried under there somewhere, but with all the sudden stops and starts, and changes of tempo, it's not something you could ever tap your foot to. The melodies sound very angular and disjointed. It sounds like they're making it up as they go along, but since the instruments and vocals often all follow the same melody it must have been planned out in advance. And in fact, after listening to the album several times, it seems to develop an internal logic all its own. Things don't sound nearly as strange after repeated listens. The closest comparison I can make to other music would be Frank Zappa's synclavier work, especially the Civilization Phase III album. Speaking of the instruments, one of the things I like the most about U Totem is the instrumentation. In addition to the usual rock guitar, bass, drums and keyboards, the band features bassoon, flute and piccolo, as well as the occasional saxophone and clarinet. There's just something about the sound of those first three instruments blending in with the standard rock instruments that I like. Especially the bassoon. It sounds a lot better than one would expect. The disc is technically a concept album. The CD booklet contains a short story written by James Grigsby, who seems to be the mastermind behind the band — he's credited with all words and music, as well as playing guitar, bass, computer, tapes and performing one of the speaking roles. The story itself is almost as disjointed and strange as the music - I had to read the whole thing twice before I could wring the sense out of it. It tells the tale of a group of characters (and an object) who are "strange attractors" — they keep turning up in each other's lives. The main character seems to be a man named Edison, but it's hard to tell, since the story is told from several perspectives. Anyway, we follow the life of Edison, jumping from his adulthood back to his childhood and then forward to his old age. Meanwhile characters he encounters in various ways (a hooker, childhood "friends", business partners, etc) end up tied together through other plot lines. And then the whole story is given a strange, science-fiction twist by a character named Mr. Tipps — a shadowy, big-league businessman with government and military ties who can bend people to his will by taking over their bodies with a strange purple smoke. Very X-Files. The story is only tangentially connected to the music though. Each track on the CD is named after one of the sections of the story, and the vocals found on a few tracks are mostly just reciting pieces of the story, sung along with the angular melodies. In summary, this is a very dense, twisting, difficult to decipher album, based on a dense, twisting, difficult to decipher story. It's definitely not for the feint of heart, and those who tend to stick to symphonic prog should probably stay away. But if you're feeling adventurous and are the type who likes an album that requires the listener to play it several times and work to dig out its secrets, then this disc presents a worthwhile challenge. Still, I've got to admit that I'm not as fond of it as I am the first U Totem album. It's just as odd, but seems more structured than this one. I'd recommend starting there before trying Strange Attractors. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

s e a n

This is the second release from the RIO "super-group" U Totem, formed as a combination of the 5uu's and the Motor Totemist Guild. A concept album based around a science fiction story by MTG member James Grigsby, Strange Attractors is another prime sampling of the aggressive, all-out RIO performed by this group. While Thinking Plague or the 5uu's might occasionally give a moment of respite, U Totem tends to plow forward with incredibly tight (and at times random sounding) ensemble-solo explosions punctuated by Emily Hay's atonal singing. At times this sounds like the heavier music of Henry Cow circa Western Culture, and of course there is the obvious relationship with the other bands on the American RIO axis. What you wouldn't expect is the Celtic music knock-off that occurs at the start of "Agent White Fox". This band is difficult to digest even by RIO standards. While Strange Attractors holds my interest somewhat less than the band's first, it's still a bold artistic statement and worthy of the U Totem name. review by Sean McFee — undated —

j o e

The second album by the union band of 5uu's and Motor Totemist Guild. You've seen on television those dominoes masters who spend hours, sometimes days, to set up their work, only to have the fruits of their labor executed beautifully in a fraction of that time? Strange Attractors is kind of a musical analogue to that. Here we get 50 minutes' worth of pieces that are very challenging yet at the same time playfully odd; these were written, rehearsed, and recorded ostensibly over the course of 3 years. At the helm is guitarist and composer James Grigsby, who seems drawn towards synthesizing elements that one wouldn't readily conceptualize next to each other. Take, for example, the accompanying story for this concept album, an intractable blend of William Faulkner and the X-Files. Or "No Mo Ippon," reminiscent of Zappa's work, blending a traditional, smarmy jazz-swing with a RIO aesthete. "Ginger Tea," perhaps the album's highlight, might be facetiously described as The Shaggs if they were virtuosos instead of idiot savants. Here Emily Hay's voice, at once both singing and talking to us, melds lock-step in an immaculate fashion with the band's angular pacings and melodies. Computer effects, scurrying piano runs, church hymns, Japanese lounge, and jams with breakneck, alternating time patterns — these all get thrown into the blender, and incredibly enough, the vision that emerges retains its consistency by the end. I'm not a big RIO fan, but even if I hated this album, I would still respect the obvious amount of time it took to develop it. As it stands, I really do like this one, which continues to get better with repeated listens. review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —