4: American Don and so forth

American Don (2000)

Don Caballero

Touch and Go Records

Let's wind back the clock on Don Caballero for moment. Before their two most recent efforts, the exceptionally average and unremarkable World Class Listening Problem,  and the forced-comedy song titles of Punkgasm. Before Damon Che decided he was Don Caballero. Before Ian Williams Left.

Released in the spring of 2000, American Don  was the result of the bands collaboration in the studio with producer Steve Albini, most famous for producing Nirvana's In Utero and The Pixies'Surfer Rosa. Following what seems to be the trend they had of switching around band members every album, this was (in my opinion) the most streamlined and functional line-up the band had ever had (or would ever have). The band had been boiled down to its very extreme with just guitarist Ian Williams, Drummer Damon Che and newbie bassist Eric Emm on board, but this album is essentially the battle between Che's quirky and flamboyant drumming, with William's subdued and organic guitar. Never has a band with two such opposing musical personalities been able to form such a whole sound. That reminds me - I should probably give those not in the know an overview of what this band actually sound like.

Since their first album For Respect in 1993, Don Caballero's aesthetic had been slowly morphing from the crunchy, rhythmically-complex heavy-metal that Damon Che obviously favours as a songwriter (although he hates the term math-rock, Che is considered a pioneer within the genre), to the flowing, mechanical minimalism of Ian Williams. Following that in 1995, Don Caballero 2 was more of the same in terms of guitar tones, but the style of guitar work had much changed, with Williams' alien, 'extended guitar' techniques coming to the fore. 1998's  What Burns, Never Returns was, to all intents and purposes, the tipping point. This was an album with head-bobbing alterna-rock riffs one second and delay-saturated pseudo-jazz passages the next, tipping their hat to the Cocteau Twins and Miles Davis simultaneously. It seemed to be in equal measure Che and Williams' styles combined. When we look at Williams' free-jazz side project - Storm and Stress - and the following Don Cab albums (primarily written by Che) and then imagine what would happen if they had a bastard child, that child would be What Burns, Never Returns.

And what followed when that child grew up would be American Don.

I never think of this album in terms of songs. I can only ever listen to it as a whole, because that's the way it works best. It's an experience. It's a collection of moments that flow into one another. It's comparable in many ways to post-rock in that sense, with each song closer to a classical composition than it would be to a 'rock song'. In a far more literal way it has gone beyond the form and aesthetic of rock music while retaining the instruments and the kind of rebellious sensibility that define it. Here, the guitar is almost unrecognisable as the same instrument that spurred rock n' roll, heavy metal and punk music. Emm and William's have morphed their instruments through looping devices that have allowed them to create dense layers of melody and counter-point that would otherwise require far more performers. Imagine a kind of 'Frére Jacques' application of this technique; playing a short guitar lead and then gradually adding details and harmonies. Bass is sparse, but the warm tone and simplistic melodies are like butter to the ears. The effect is startling. It's the musical equivalent of abstract expressionism.

As always the drums are flashy, complex and almost never repeat themselves. It's as if Che plays nothing but fills. His virtuosity has led to many fans being in awe of the band for that alone, ignoring the true songwriting capacities of Williams and the contrast between their two styles. It has also led to many to dub American Don as their worst, as Che's drumming is somewhat more subdued on this release.

While the band called 'Don Caballero' continues to tour, the real Don Caballero died with American Don, Damon Che being the solitary member of the original lineup on all subsequent releases. The follow up, World Class Listening Problem, was a massive step backwards in terms of songwriting, harking more towards the unrefined experimental metal of their early releases, while trying to retain fans of American Don by applying imitation-'Williams' style guitar riffs. Their latest, Punkgasm was a further step away from their peak, with the band descending into sub-standard math-rock clichés.

Williams went on to form the critically acclaimed neo-kraut band Battles, who seemingly attempt to create a musical fusion between man and machine, a kind of expansion and development on ideas from American Don yet with further exploration of timbre.

It doesn't look like they'll ever collaberate again.