American World Music
Since forming in 1999, Athens' Dromedary has toured more widely and frequently than most unsigned bands, playing over 600 concerts in North America. But Sticks and Stones, the independently pressed album that the group will release at its show on Saturday, doesn't sound like the work of a road-weary band. The 11 songs on the new album are patient, nuanced and careful. This is the work of musicians immersed both in their craft and in their community with one another.
Such studied, subtle performances are rare among bands who combine genres as freely as Dromedary does. Though it is often tagged as a jazz or world music act, the group transcends labels: on Sticks and Stones, you'll hear Southern folk sounds from Rob McMaken's dulcimer and mandolin, hints of African pop in Andrew Reissiger's acoustic and electric guitars, gypsy rhythms out of Louis Romanos' drum kit, and bop grooves from Chris Enghauser's bass. And never, never, never, are these stylistic collisions forced or predictable. Nor are these four gentlemen reckless or imperialistic as they cross cultural and musical boundaries. Dromedary takes seriously the traditions from which it draws. When listening to Sticks and Stones, you don't hear ego; these guys have humbled themselves before their muse. This isn't to say that the album is never assertive or intense - in fact, it often is. Dromedary's method, though, is not slapdash.
This performance marks a return to Athens for Reissiger, who now lives in California. He and McMaken - the band's cofounders - will tour the West Coast this summer. So take advantage of this opportunity to see these four performers together in the Classic City.
Phillip Buchan - Flagpole Magazine, Athens GA. April 2, 2008
