Speed Dating

Album review

Steeped in the conceptual music of the avant-garde, as well as the disciplines of jazz and academic composition, the music of Mark Applebaum seems to signal yet another phase of eclectic postmodernism and restless experimentation. Speed Dating, Applebaum's 2018 release on Innova, presents five short pieces, each with a different instrumentation, technique, and raison d'être, and the album may be regarded as a small sample of Applebaum's wide-ranging projects. Whether working with four-channel sound poetry and clever wordplay in Three Unlikely Corporate Sponsorships, eight-channel outbursts of goofy synthesized sound in Skeletons in the Closet, an octet broken into constantly changing pairs in Speed Dating, ferociously difficult technical displays for solo violin in The Plate of Transition Nourishes the Chameleon Appetite, or a percussion ensemble "conducted" via headphones in Clicktrack, Applebaum is clearly the master of surprisingly diverse materials and provocative ideas. Yet as varied and whimsical as his pieces are, there is always a sense of coherence and competence behind the seemingly chaotic surfaces, giving the music intellectual clarity, and while it is challenging and requires a thoughtful disposition for appreciation, this disc is reasonably accessible and entertaining because of Applebaum's wry wit and ingenuity. Highly recommended for adventurous listeners.
© Blair Sanderson /TiVo