A percussion instrument is one sounded by striking or shaking. This definition covers the usual suspects-- drums, maracas, washboards, xylophones. If you're willing, this also qualifies instruments that aren't considered percussive-- the guitar, the piano, even the violin. With that more expansive characterization in mind, Clogs call their latest album Stick Music. The only instruments used in performing these nine tracks are ostensibly ones that need to be struck in order to make sound, whether the sticks be wood or strung with catgut or even just triangular pieces of plastic.
Opener "Ananda Lahari" is a traditional Indian hymn, performed here by Padma Newsome, Clogs' primary songwriter. He plays the violin the way one would expect, alternating between legato (connected and smooth) and vibrato (tremulous and pulsating) phrasings to beautiful effect. On other tracks, he and his fellow players (including bandmate Bryce Dessner on guitar, and renowned improvisational cellist Erik Friedlander) take to whacking or plucking or violently bowing their instruments. In "Pencil Stick", eerie tinny tones are tapped out while violins are sawed through. This concussive approach is more pronounced on "Sticks and Nails", where resonant metallic pings and tongs sound off like broken grandfather clock chimes. And, appropriately, in "Beating Stick", the music consists entirely of the players tapping on strings.
In case you're unsure, Clogs don't often utilize singers or lyrics. Stick Music's only vocals are on "Lady Go", with Newsome utilizing a well-mannered falsetto against a mournful string section for this brief European folk aside. The rest of the album lets the instruments speak for themselves, whether they chatter and buzz like swarming insects (in "River Stick"), gently keen and wail (in "My Mister 'Never Ending Bliss'"), or drunkenly swoon (as on the album's final track, "Pitasi"). Calling this stuff "classical" might work as a quick-and-dirty pigeon hole, but it short shrifts the talents of a group that takes its inspiration and cues from indigenous musics all across Europe and Asia. When trying to describe Clogs' music to other folks, it might be better to forgo any genre distinctions and head straight for the thesaurus so you can find fresh and exciting ways to say "sublime."
