Don Caballero

World Class Listening Problem

[4/5] It may be weird to see Don Caballero–who released their last album in 2000 prior to, for all intents and purposes, breaking up–reformed with a new lineup around drummer Damon Che, but it’s not hard to believe. For the past 15 years, Che’s polyrhythmic, octopus-limbed drumming–not to mention his alpha-male demeanor–has been Don Cab’s defining trait. Recorded in Detroit with longtime producer Al Sutton, World Class Listening Problem finds Che & Co. (now members of Pittsburgh’s Creta Bourzia) expertly running through an abridged Don Cab audio history: from the math-metal early days of founding guitarist Mike Banfield (the logic-defying riffage of “And And And, He Lowered The Twin Down”) to the finger-tapping, Steve Reich-goes-rock era of closing guitarist Ian Williams (“I’m Goofballs For Bozzo Jazz”). And while not much new gets brought to the table (though the Afro-pop Mike Post TV-theme bent of “Palm Trees In The Fecking Bahamas” is a great hint of what could be), Don Cab’s reputation as the planet’s best instrumental math-rock band doesn’t waver. Here’s hoping they can keep it together long enough to do some real damage.
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