Buke and Gase – General Dome

Buke and Gase are not your average band....
Buke and Gase : General Dome
7.2 Brassland
2013 

Buke and Gase : General DomeBuke and Gase (formerly Buke and Gass) are not your average band.  Arone Dyer & Aron Sanchez (QRO interview) play their own handmade instruments, most notably a six-strong former ukulele (‘buke’) and guitar-bass hybrid (‘gase’).  Their sound on sophomore record General Dome is not for the general public, but it is definitely for those who want it.

Some tracks on Dome hit the nail on the B&G head, such as opener “Houdini Crush”.  Pressing and aggressive without being ‘hard’, the folk has just the right amount of freak – enough to make it interesting, but not enough to be off-putting.  The stomping following “Hiccup” has purpose.  The rhythm to “Split Like a Lip, No Blood On the Beard” makes the duo’s unusual sound a catchy hepstepper.

Then there are the disjointed numbers that don’t work as well.  Pieces like “In the Company of Fish”, “Hard Times”, “Twisting the Lasso of Truth”, and “Cyclopean” combine arrhythmic beats with aggressive folk strings in a way that can get grating for those who aren’t into it.

Those who like Buke and Gase (such as Aaron & Bryce Dessner of The National – QRO spotlight on – who signed the duo to their Brassland label) are definitely going to like General Dome.  And those who don’t know them will be put off by some numbers, but hooked in by others.

Buke and Gase – Split Like a Lip, No Blood On the Beard

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