BARR - Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case (CD) |

It's kind of like this: Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case was once a zygote Brendan Fowler's brain. Brendan Fowler, we should get it out of the way now, is BARR. A really important thing for you to know is that Barr's brain looks good in many hats, literally and figuratively. Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case grew into music, in the formal sense, and it grew into time-based art, in concept and performance. This album could be a manic audio book with wild free jazz and safe rhythm drum tracks (why aren't there more drum tracks on audio books?). OR it could be your cool older brother telling you kooky bedtime stories because he loves you and wants you to grow up and be an artist; he wants you in the world by his side as a perennial optimist dropping ideas like, "What?" Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case is not only genre-transgressive " at its basest level it's just the sound of drums and voice " but it transgresses mediums, too. It's Brendan combining his skills as storyteller, his love for free jazz percussion, his experiences in the art world, his experiences in the non-art world, his willingness to go out on a limb and be personal, his appreciation for concepts (hi- and lo-), and most importantly his desire to produce something that will inspire other folks to make art, to feel encouraged to be real and raw and brave idealists. IT'S TOTALLY THE SELF-ACTUALIZATION ALBUM OF THE YEAR. It's Houses of the Holy for kids with skateboards, and blogs they only write on when they are drunk or angry, and a million hot ideas in 2006. And it's a good time to say the least.