Matthew De Gennaro: “Chuang Tzu Motherfucker” Review
Michigan loner Matthew De Gennaro’s recent album Chuang Tzu Motherfucker has been stuck in my car’s CD player for the past two weeks. And while normally this would prompt my listening to the radio or worst case, wresting the cd out with a tweezers, somehow I have yet to tire of De Gennaro’s music. On many a drive I have found myself lulled into a meditative state by the endlessly absorbing orchestrations. It hasn’t made me a better driver though it has made me a calmer one.
Chuang Tzu Motherfucker is made up nearly exclusively of instrumental works, which self-taught musician De Gennaro gives life to via the viola, harmonium, claves, guitar (and a few other bells and whistles). It also features one track in which De Gennaro speaks (apparently his first). The sound varies widely: from anarchic noise to sweet melody. The theme that marks the record throughout though is one of profound, pastoral isolation. Obviously this is at least partly due to De Gennaro’s self-imposed exile from civilization (he lives in rural Michigan and only rarely performs live).
Chuang Tzu Motherfucker’s eight tunes each remind me in their own way of nature itself. There is intimacy while still encompassing epic vastness. Chaos while guided by an underlying order. In short, it’s a bit like the world around us. It’s wild and without pretension, and whatever the listener “takes” from it is affected by what the listener is bringing to the table. To me it sounds alone and a bit sad – but to you it might evoke something altogether different.
You can find out for yourself this weekend as De Gennaro is performing one of is extremely rare live shows at the Eagles Club (2507 E 25th St, Minneapolis) this Saturday October 26th. This isn’t the sort of thing that happens often so in the words of the Chicago Reader’s Peter Margasak “don’t treat this occasion lightly.” And if this show whets your appetite for loner experimental guitarists, follow up with Jandek at the Cedar Cultural Center on Halloween. Yes, it truly is Rocktober for experimental music in the Twin Cities.
— Jon
Chuang Tzu Motherfucker can be purchased from Soft Abuse Records.
