Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - Connection (2023) [Hi-Res]

On their 5th studio album, Connection, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog have pushed their long-brewing tension between traditional pop songcraft and avantgarde improvisational music to the breaking point, bridging their customary genre-agnostic approach with elements of glam boogie, minimalist disco, psychedelic boogaloo, garage-punk-against-the-machine agitprop, and so much more. Recorded at Figure 8 Recording in Brooklyn, NY and mixed by Ben Greenberg (Danny Elfman, Depeche Mode, Lamb of God) the album sees Ribot – whose prodigious, impossible-to-categorize body of work as bandleader and musician spans no wave and jazz, Brazilian and Cuban music, roots and avant-garde and protest songs (often at the same time) alongside legendary collaborations with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, The Lounge Lizards, John Zorn, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Caetano Veloso, and Laurie Anderson (to name but a few) – continuing to utilize Ceramic Dog as the vessel for his distinctive stream-of-consciousness songwriting, penning three out of the album’s four vocal tracks including the groove-infected “Ecstasy” (showcasing Anthony Coleman’s slinky Farfisa and longtime friend and associate Syd Straw behind the mic). From the anthemic manifesto “Soldiers in the Army of Love” to the unhinged ranting of “Heart Attack” and indescribable “No... more

CERAMIC DOG:
Marc Ribot: guitars, tres (4), dobro (5), bass (2, 3, 9), vocals
Shahzad Ismaily: bass, electronics, vocals
Ches Smith: drums, percussion, electronics, vocals

with
SPECIAL GUESTS
Syd Straw, vocals (4)
Anthony Coleman, Farfisa (4, 8, 10)
James Brandon Lewis, sax (5, 7) (appears courtesy of ANTI- Records)
Greg Lewis, Hammond B3 organ (9)
Oscar Noriega, clarinet (10)
Peter Sachon, cello (6)