Riposte<\/em>\u2019s core can be heard in occasional snippets of conversation and musical noodling taken from the band\u2019s recording sessions, a subtle nod to their peculiar process.<\/p>\nLike many of their contemporaries\u2014the Dodos and tUnE-yArDs come to mind\u2014Buke and Gass are enamored with polyrhythms, reveling in the jarring pulse of mismatched beats. They\u2019re made of harder stuff, though, than many of their fellow avant-folkies, an indebtedness to post-punk evident in the music\u2019s uncompromising demeanor and the undercurrent of menace that runs throughout. Dyer writes with dark, paranoid imagery, delivering manic lyrics in a nimble voice capable of jumping from shout to whisper in an instant. The group eschews traditional song structure, unafraid of odd time signatures, abrupt changes in tempo, or long forms. At their best, they reveal a knack for writing hooks that pull at your gut.<\/p>\n
Riposte<\/em> hits its peak somewhere around track 7, when it becomes apparent that Buke & Gass have only one speed. Dyer and Sanchez\u2019s unrelenting energy can wear thin; Dyer\u2019s lyrics, too, can be opaque and hard to grasp. Riposte<\/em> is nevertheless a remarkable effort, one that grabs you by the collar and demands a second listen. And a third, and a fourth. So go on\u2014turn it up.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>Buke and Gass take their name from the two improvised instruments that bandmates Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez strum whilst singing and manipulating various pedals and percussion pieces with their feet. Dyer, whose reedy vocals form the centerpiece of the album, plays a modified baritone ukelele, called a buke, while Sanchez hammers away on a gass (rhymes with \u201cbase\u201d), a guitar-bass hybrid of his own creation. This DIY aesthetic is most apparent in the duo\u2019s live performances, oft-lauded for the sheer volume and complexity made possible by the two musicians\u2019 unorthodox setup. If it weren\u2019t for their reputation\u2014or their name, for that matter\u2014you\u2019d hardly guess the group\u2019s made-from-scratch origins from Riposte<\/em>. The album is crisp and unwavering, its jagged edges wielded with restraint, its many instrumental and percussive layers compiled with an eye towards power and precision. The only evidence of the idiosyncrasies at Riposte<\/em>\u2019s core can be heard in occasional snippets of conversation and musical noodling taken from the band\u2019s recording sessions, a subtle nod to their peculiar process.<\/p>\n