Cory Rayborn, fakejazz, Issue 24, 18 January 2002

It is no secret that there are marked differences between being talented and accomplished studio musicians and being able to dynamically execute a powerful live performance. Artists can be found from both extremes of this spectrum. With Mort Aux Vaches, Tarentel demonstrates that they deserve to be classified in that special subcategory of active musicians that excel on the fly. With two well-crafted albums and a collection of EPs and singles to their name, this San Francisco outfit has authoritatively carved a niche for themselves with their expansive and expressive instrumental catalog. The band does not tour frequently and has commonly gone months without playing live. That said, this album captures the power they exert when in performance, defying the listener to miss those moments when they do hit the road.

Without the safety net of overdubs, Tarentel moves through four tracks over the course of this fifty minute session commissioned for VPRO’s De Avonden program in Holland. Seamlessly moving from track to track, the album covers material from both of their full-length albums. Performed and recorded almost two years ago, the album shows no sign of age. The performance is as relevant now as it was when it was made.

The disc opens with "Adonai," a track familiar to all who have heard 2001’s The Order of Things. The music slowly builds, as it does on album, but here the ascent is driven around guitars for the most part with a noticeable lack of the horn and voice accents that are included on the album. This sparse arrangement might even be preferable to the formerly released version through its ability to focus the listener’s attention on the song’s core rather than it’s periphery. Early in the track there is a degree of expressiveness present in the guitars that creates a distinct dynamic within the number, a dynamic that creates a marked change when the number’s high degree of structure and coherence dissolves into amorphous and space-like noise.

The first track’s drone flows right into "Steede Bonnet." This has always seemed to be one of the band’s greatest songs—the guitar, the drum beat, the entire atmosphere that it evokes in the listener’s mind. Here, from the song’s first snare strike, Tarentel demands that attention be given to the complete movement of the song. Layer upon layer of shimmering guitars are placed over each other, proof that the band has played the song for a long time and has developed a wonderful ability to feed off of each other in an improvisational sense and to feel out each other’s movements. The music eventually falls back, letting some sampling come to the forefront for a brief diversion before most of the instrumentation drops out and leaves a vacuum of minimal drone accented by an occasional burst of noise. Flawlessly performed.

"When No One’s Listening" comes up next and brings sudden return to musical form over the chaos that had ended the last track. Guitar repetition helps create a great deal of structure that is slowly built upon by all of the other forms of instrumentation. All of these sounds remain calm and never really accelerate the track’s pace. The volume does increase starting around the track’s middle.

This perfectly sets the stage for the band’s finale, the epic "For Carl Sagan." Early and brief sonic disorder quickly leads to the track’s overall tune and structure, and the band constantly drives the intensity higher and higher, continuing and increasing the volume. Guitars swirl and howl, cymbals shift from ride to crash and the intensity escalates accordingly until a true and powerful din is achieved. Climaxed, the song descends into about eight minutes of shimmering noise that eventually dissolves into singular notes.

Mort Aux Vaches is a very worthy addition to the collection of any devout Tarentel fan. It would also play nicely to the listener of contemporary instrumental rock. From a limited, numbered edition of 1000, grab it now if you’re interested.

rating: 10/12

J. Ryan Kee, Action Attack Helicopter

This is not a new Tarentel record. This is a recording of a live performance that took place on April 18th, 2000 for VPRO radio in Amsterdam. The songs contained are: 1. Adonai (from The Order of Things), 2. Steede Bonnet (from From Bone to Satellite), 3. When No One's Listening (as far as I know, is previously unreleased), and 4. For Carl Sagan (from From Bone to Satellite). The recording is extremely clean and wonderful, making you forget that that is a live recording. The version of "Steede Bonnet" is really rockin' on this CD, which is a side that the new material is lacking. The Order of Things is a much more mellow record, which isn't really a bad thing, I guess, I just miss the olden days.

These CDs are limited to 1000, are hand numbered, and the packaging is quite unique: it is a three fold vinyl sleeve, with a small plastic fastener to hold it together in the center. Watch for a Tarentel singles album coming out in May on The Temporary Residence Limited.