Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of neoclassical music to review for Chain D.L.K., and it often ends up being straight classical without any kind of experimental edge to it. When I pulled this out of the packaging and saw that it was violin, prepared piano, and percussion, I feared that once again I was in for a pretty, but not necessarily experimental classical disc. Thankfully, that’s not the case in this instance. This disc features Erica Dicker on violin, Eli Wallace on prepared piano, and Derek Dickens on percussion. I was unfamiliar with these artists, but Dickens is the person behind Mole-Tree Records and all three have been in a host of projects. Let’s jump in and see what we have here.

This disc consists of two tracks. The first one, "Pillars," is an interesting ride that would be quite in quite at home on Public Eyesore Records. Dicker scratches, scrapes, and manages to get all kinds of interesting sounds out of her violin while Wallace manages to keep a piano line going somehow in the maelstrom and Dickens manages to keep some semblance of a rhythm going. It’s chaotic and a fun ride. "Tossed Into the Brine" is the second track, which at over 26 minutes gives the piece a bit more breathing room. Stylistically it’s similar. Clanging bells and other metal rattling while a heavily abused violin and piano keeping it moving along, but where "Pillars" is a bit more linear, "Tossed Into the Brine" is much more like a roller coaster. There are moments where it gets more and more chaotic only to sink into a quiet trough. This cycles throughout the course of the track and keeps everything interesting.

Overall, this was a fun ride and would appeal to both those who enjoy experimental / improvisational music and those who enjoy classical music. If you enjoy classical musicians who are pushing the envelope, this would be well worth picking up.