Present Point Passed
Ensemble, Et Al.
(Ensemble, Et Al.)

Present Point Passed’s Ensemble, Et Al. is an interesting album to say the least. The Brooklyn-based percussion group of Ron Tucker, Charles Kessenich, J. Ross Marshall and Jeff Eng uses marimba, vibraphone, and glockenspiel as well as Moog synthesizer, drums, Indian cowbells and Tibetan bowls to create a pretty, lush sound that can be at times sweet and delicate and at others full, head-on rockin’.

I dig the first two songs, “No Matter How Fast You Run Today, You Will Never Catch Up to Tomorrow” with its plinking vibes, fantastic drumming and the urban feel of “A Brief Story Without an Ending,” with its solo vibes and even better drumming. (For me, what makes most of these six is indeed the drumming.)

I’m not sure if “An Afterword of an Image” is much more then actually just some “after words” (it’s not one of the stronger pieces here and seems to never build to any kind of a point), but it is still sweet. And again (yes, repeat after me here kids), the drumming is spot-on.

“Clock-Watching Isn’t Waiting” (great title) has vibes rushing like a waterfall and a shunky beat midway through – another good use of the sounds this band employs. As with the first pair, I like this one a lot.

Give these local guys a good long checking-out here. I think you might dig what they are about.