Reviews

A great writer once said, “Variation form is the form in which concentration is brought to its maximum; it enables the composer to speak only of essentials, to go straight to the core of the matter.” Kaddisfly is a band that spent a great deal of time searching for their own identity, testing out all the waters, and finally anchoring down in a place where they really could get straight to the core of the matter; establishing themselves with this album as modern day transcendentalists.  “Buy Our Intention; We’ll Buy You a Unicorn” is a work of spirituality with nature, with others and with self backed up by a myriad of treats in the percussion section and a maturity that has taken years for these Oregon natives to achieve. 
 
On a purely instrumental basis, nothing is being done here that hasn’t been done before by groups such as Brazil, Glassjaw and Faith No More. What makes it so interesting, and I will use the term again, is the variation in instrumentation in the percussion section. Kaddisfly features beautiful orchestral instruments such as the glockenspiel, wind chimes and concert chimes, but also small novelties like an egg shaker, triangle, cowbell, rock goblet and wine glasses. Added with a Mandolin, piano, classical guitar and the usual drums, bass, guitar and vocals, they create almost a chaotic atmosphere comparable to a white-water rapid, which quickly transforms into a tranquil lake. All the nature metaphors do have a point, by the way. 
 
As with any variation, the entire album is comprised of song after song delivering the same common theme and message. The lyrics are nature-oriented, describing the life of the wind, oceans and stars, and how they relate to our lives. Kaddisfly is also extremely spiritual, displaying the strong belief that the environment is not ours to destroy, but ours to become aligned with. I think this is what separates them from their musically inclined counterparts. 
 
Kaddisfly certainly hands out their fair share of breakdowns and piano solos on this release, mostly in a hectic and disorganized manner. The clutter is obviously intentional, it’s reflective of the way that from track to track, although the message is clearly the same, the music changes both drastically and subtly, creating the perfect recipe for a theme and variations.  Well done.