Cinema Cinema
CCXMDII
Nefarious Industries
The Village Voice has called Cinema Cinema “experi-metal punks”. The duo of guitarist Ev Gold and drummer Paul Claro have released six albums and toured extensively with SST Records founder and Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Songs like “Lady Abortion” have earned the band a reputation for being “brutal and unrelenting.”
CCXMDII is collaboration between the Cinema Cinema crew and the Klezmatics master of all things saxophone, Matt Darriau. The collaborative effort yielded a skronky, punk-jazz sound clash in 2019. The CCXMD album toned down the Cinema Cinema sonic mayhem a bit. While still being confrontational, they explored sounds and textures associated with East Village jazz players like John Zorn, James Blood Ulmer and the Lounge Lizards. A bit of a change for the hardcore fans.
The second and concluding installment of the CCXMD story is further step into the strange. It seems like the CCXMD collective’s response to 2020 was to slink off to a Zen garden far from the cigarette and stale beer aroma of punk dive bars. The opening track, “Life of it’s Own,” sounds positively New Age with Darriau playing wood flute and the Cinema Cinema guys providing an Eno-esque sound bed. “Continued” remains meditative while letting some harsh guitar and drum slip in momentarily. The sax and a funky rhythm come out to play on “Crack of Dawn.” Recharged by their hiatus in the world of ambient Zen, the final few tracks re-engage with the world and show that Cinema Cinema are not about to take up residence in Sedona, Arizona.
