Don Caballero II

The liner notes are clear: "Don Caballero is rock not jazz, Don Caballero is free from solos." Free from solos, but not from complex, ever evolving compositions that never, ever forget to crank up the amps and riff along. How to describe them? The "post-rock" tag doesn't really make sense, and the math rock label is even more limiting -- too bloodless. But if a comparison has to be made or a link established, try Drive Like Jehu, but without vocals. The Williams/Banfield guitar team knows exactly how to play off each other, trading notes, establishing parallel melodies, and hitting full crunch like an evolving beast. Che, meanwhile, sits behind it all and directs everything with equal power and skill. In mainstream terms, the Smashing Pumpkins' Jimmy Chamberlin got the '90s kudos for being a power rock drummer with the skills and fluidity of jazz, but Che is clearly equally skilled, as this album makes perfectly clear. An eight-track release, it splits evenly between shorter and longer pieces.