Search - Lungfish :: Unanimous Hour

Some of the more honest practicioners of music...

dornd@bellsouth.net | Southeastern United States | 07/27/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the world of the arts we look for someone's own unique perspective on things, the way they proccess information and return it to us. Over the years (1988-present) Lungfish has been an interesting force far and beyond the usual perspective. The band's frontman, Daniel Higgs, has certainly abandoned the norm (even in the world of experiment) an given the world a piece of himself that seems as genuine and honest as the notion of gravity. "The Unanimous Hour" is a truly emotional work of art; and as always, I come away from them [lungfish] with the real sense that I have been given a gift of great labor. This is certainly not typical in today's music, of any kind. This band is a real gem. A new niche has been carved that we shall call the Lungfish."

Drone on -- no, please do!

Aaron Burgess | Round Rock, TX, USA | 08/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lungfish's setup -- voice, guitar, bass, drums -- and ultra-repetitive playing style have barely changed since 1990, and yet with every new record the Baltimore quartet sound like they're getting closer to something. From the angular "Space Orgy" onward, "The Unanimous Hour" plays as anyone familiar with the band would expect: Gritty guitar lines and "organic" drones circle elliptical lyrics; every instrument locks into one huge, primal rhythm; and every gesture gets reduced to its basics. But by track five -- the sole lyric of which is "God's will, not yours, not mine" -- Lungfish sound like they're repeating this one incredible song not because it's what they do, but because it's who they are. And so "Hour" becomes another essential part of this creature that's been evolving in public for 10 years and counting. Singer Daniel Higgs' lyrics -- vivid, surreal renderings of people, gods, worlds and systems turned inside out -- show the brain and the spirit simultaneously at work, while the music -- dense, hypnotic and pressure-cooked -- is the heartbeat that keeps the body moving forward... to something."