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Promotional one sheet .pdf for NPR16 Rollerball "Two Feathers" click here

Reviews for Two Feathers

You know how the Beatles’ White Album is full of some of the best songs you’ve ever heard in your life, mixed up with a bunch of self-indulgent throwaway bits? And you know how every one of those oddball tracks is someone, somewhere’s favorite song EVER? This pretty much describes the whole career of Rollerball, a local band with a discography that stretches back to the mid-'90s. The group (bass, drums, piano, sax and strong lady vox) plays live like a true ensemble—chops and interplay galore, buddy. The records are good, too, and tonight Rollerball celebrates the release of its 15th album, Two Feathers. Because most people are idiots, the band is only big in Italy and St. Johns. Rollerball is better than your band and it’s time for you to drink the Kool-Aid. NATHAN CARSON.
-Williamette Week

If you think Rollerball, and that is if you ever think about that term at all, you automatically think movies. You surely think James Caan in that bright orange American football uniform, complete with those space age knuckledusters, hurtling around and around that track acting out the ritualistic violence of the sport which gives the film its title. You may even think of the tawdry remake years later which went straight to video but that's probably because you don't get out too much these days. Failing that, you may think about Rollerball pens, those thoroughly modern writing instruments which were cast as fierce rivals to the more venerable ballpoint. But I shall wager you wouldn't even begin to think about a bunch of sonic experimentalists from Portland, Oregon who just happen to share that very same name. And why wouldn't you think of them, you may ask yourself? Because you would never have heard of them, that's why. And this despite the fact that they seem to have been around forever and for whom this is now their fourteenth album. There won't be shit left to talk about, sings founder member Mae Starr on "Split Pea", as she shares her own personal dystopian vision of an apocalyptic future and into which the similarities with Rollerball the movie suddenly become ever clearer. The celluloid Rollerball seems to demonstrate the hopelessness and helplessness of resistance. I guess this is what it must feel like to be in Rollerball the band as they swim against the tide of convention with their amalgam of free jazz, ambience, electronica and general progressive weirdness. Their dark songs seem to anticipate the end of the world, or at least in the case of "Rick Wright" the end of life, and as the album shifts through various shapes and gears from smoky supper clubs to trance-like raves their edges become more sharp and discordant, in much the same way that Rollerball the movie becomes progressively more violent. And just as James Caan's ageing star rages against the corporate machine with his singular talent, so do Mae Starr and her cohorts through their music. But where James Caan ultimately enjoys a victory of sorts, I doubt Rollerball will ever do so. Still, I bet their music would somehow make the perfect soundtrack for a film in which individualism is suppressed and singular effort is rendered pointless. And if you were to think about it, you could always call that film Rollerball.
-Simon Godley

I had never heard of Portland-based band Rollerball before. The band has been around for fifteen years, has released fourteen albums and has toured Europe five times. Rollerball’s music is defined as a mixture of experimental / progressive rock with gothic and jazzy undertones. Reason enough to give this a closer listen. The first thing that makes “Two Feathers” stand out, is the exceptional artwork. The album cover is a nice, plain fold-out cardboard sleeve, but the graphics are fascinating. It’s sort of a collage of artwork of ancient cultures. And then there’s the font. I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks like some sort of hieroglyphic or arabic writing, but after a closer look, it's just weird letters, so I was able to read it. Very nice. It made me even more curious about the music. The first notes of “Two Feathers” set the tone: dark, melancholic jazz. Against this slow and groovy background, Mae Starr’s voice is a powerful addition. It has an almost hypnotic effect, dragging you into the world of Rollerball. I’ve played the album a couple of times in a row, and I can only say that it’s good. It’s really good. Rollerball’s music is difficult to define, and yet, it has a very recognizable, distinctive sound.
-united mutations

Rollerball will never be accused of being straightforward, but they come something close to it on new album Two Feathers. The umpteenth release from the local avant-noise-prog-whatever band contains a few warped pop songs in which the band follows Amanda Mason Wiles' saxophone and Mae Starr's voice into a bong-hazed back lounge. There's also some of the band's patented weirdness, some of which is based around Starr's repeating keyboard figures and some of which has no roots at all. Two Feathers comes paired with a DVD that collects some of the long-running band's videos over the past two decades, which serves as a local music history lesson in and of itself. Rollerball is joined on the bill by the splendid Golden Bears, who are hard at work on the follow-up to their tremendous Wall to Wall LP, and Arch Cape, the alter ego of Norfolk & Western drummer Rachel Blumberg. NED LANNAMANN
-Portland Mercury

Released at the end of 2009, “Two Feathers” by Portland’s Rollerball is a glorious combination of sounds. Known for their ongoing evolution as a band since they got their start in the early 1990s in Montana; the latest incarnation includes spacy shimmer, loungy female vocals (in places), active keys and percussion, saxophone, glimpses of retro tropical sounds, a pinch of psychedelia, and moments of cacophony with processed male vocals. From track to track the sound changes considerably, with different flavors for different listeners. I equally enjoyed the loungier upbeat pieces with female voice that the album starts with, as well as the experimental/jazz-influenced work out that brings it all to a close.
A companion DVD includes an additional six tracks with accompanying video (some from the 90s). The second piece on the DVD, “Two Brunos” is a tour film from 2005 in Italy and Slovenia with both band interviews and performances by Ovo and Ronin.
-KFJC

Rollerball - Two Feathers (North Pole Records) Having been around some 15 years, Rollerball’s Two Feathers (their 14th album) is a musical experience that engages and draws from staple musical conventions and also embraces experimental trappings. Events begin with Mae Starr delivering a strong vocal to accompaniment from minimal, repetitive piano phrases. By “Rick Wright” the vocal has been enveloped in process before “Camera’d” introduces the jazz. Swathes of electronic mire and funky beats are never far from their grasp and they’re certainly not afraid to freak out, “Say it” has African laced rhythms and some circuit bent electronics, and “Horrible Madness” assembles layers of free jazz, noise and electronica. Always mindful to change direction when ideas have reached their potential - so nothing sours or overstays its welcome, especially when so many experimental groups allow themselves to wallow in their own doings – it’s quite refreshing.
< -leicesterbangs.co.uk

A green mist winding through the alleyways that connect all the cities of the world to Portland, Rollerball's low saxophone wail, tight post-funk beats and possessed vocals have survived more musical trends than many of the labels they've recorded for. The band has toured, recorded and released 14 albums over 15 years, with the goal seeming to be to challenge your head and feet to a duel. "Two Feathers," Rollerball's new CD/DVD release, is an optimal starting line for those who want to begin pacing now, without the long musical quest. The DVD portion features a rare film of Rollerball's tour through Italy and Slovenia, alongside videos from throughout the 1990s capturing dingy, electric street scenes, close-ups of paintings and cats grooming themselves. The CD cascades over much of the musical terrain Rollerball has covered, including noisy jazz, burbling electronics, dark pop, psychedelic rock and minimalist grooves. "Camera'd" finds a jaunty tango rhythm thrown into the mix. "Rick Wright" pays a fitting analog synth tribute to the late Pink Floyd keyboard master, while throwing in spartan beats and minimal electronics reminiscent of Can, whom Rollerball recently covered at East End's Kraut Rock Tribute Night. "Two Feathers" comes to an unsettling conclusion with two sprawling discordant pieces that will challenge all but the most open-minded of listeners. Strummed -- or beaten -- detuned guitars moan with skronking sax, scraped cymbals and keyboard squiggles on the closer, "Spool." On "Aquapipe Netarts," vocalist Mae Starr sings, "Isn't it Easter or some Catholic holiday/Where you send out chance she'll go away/We can get drunk on fire and go downtown/To the flights of stairs that lead to sound." As difficult as it can be to follow Rollerball through the many twists and turns of their stylistic labyrinth, you can't help but feel compelled to try. Jake Ten Pas
-Oregonian

Listening to the 15th studio album by the avant-garde gurus in Rollerball only confirms the weirdness hinted at in their backstory. Here we have a band that has successfully toured Europe five times in its fifteen-year run – and allegedly become the toast of Italy and Slovenia in the process – yet has failed to build any sizeable domestic following beyond its Portland, Oregon roots. Equally puzzling is the visual aesthetic of Two Feathers, where vaguely Egyptian artwork and a practically hieroglyphic font suggests that the group might be steeped in the exotic, centuries-old music of the Middle East. Song titles like “Aquapipe Netaris” and “Cellophane Wing” suggest more of a progressive influence however, on par with something Omar Rodriguez Lopez might conjure for the next Mars Volta Album. Hailing from the same region that, as of late, has become the epicenter of a burgeoning indie rock scene that includes the likes of The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, and Blitzen Trapper, you might be expecting Rollerball’s music to at least possess some of the same pastoral reveries as their Pacific Northwest brethren. Ironically, the end result is neither indicative of mystical world music or summery folk, but rather a disaffecting hybrid of jabbering electronica, murky funk, and abrasive experimentalism. Though admittedly an intriguing blend of influences, your patience will surely be tested throughout the LP’s 11 tracks and 55 minutes. “Aquapipe Netaris” kicks things off on a tentative note with two minutes of rattling percussion, sultry tones from Amanda Mason Wiles’ saxophone, and brooding chord voicings on the keyboard. The moodiness eventually subsides, giving way to a dissonant groove that is more prog-rock than it is jazz; the chorus in particular is awash in drum noise, droning harmonies, and a pulsing bass line. Though vocalist Mae Starr was clearly blessed with a great set of pipes, she rarely pushes her range, choosing instead to let her voice blend right in with the melismatic lines of the saxophone. “Osicles” finds the band venturing into territory already owned by The Dresden Dolls, where the song’s skeleton is built around the intensity and rhythmic interplay of the piano and drums. The lyrics are appropriately gloomy (“My heart’s in the darkest part of the blue sky again”) and insubordinate (“Don’t let the rulers tell you what’s right”). The music is not difficult to digest, but there’s little substance to be found that would warrant repeated listens of either song. It’s not until the homage to Pink Floyd’s recently deceased keyboardist kicks in – the prosaically titled “Rick Wright” – that things get uncommonly bizarre. Coming off as a deranged send up of “On the Run,” the tune is saturated with unsettled electronics, creepy falsetto vocals, and diminished chords. The album’s closing trilogy trolls in equally disturbed waters. “Horrible Madness” is exactly as it suggests, with the saxophones of Wiles and guest Scott Rosenberg dueling it out in a skronkfest of abrasive harmonies. “Cellophane Wing” is a study in dichotomy, with Animal Collective-style psychedelic vocals and wispy piano lines pitted against harsh drones and white noise. Two Feathers comes to a close with the seven-minute “Spool,” an obnoxious stew of squeals, endless thrum, and anxious percussion. The album does succeed in a couple of places, notably on “Split Pea” and “The Sac.” The former exudes a minimalist influence with repetitively pulsing piano chords that might be the LP’s easiest point of entry, while the latter sounds like the hypnotic incidental music to a scene where Indiana Jones is walking into some sacred shrine. Despite these encouraging signs, Rollerball seems to be lacking any genuine verve on their latest release. At least they’ve got Italy.
-Delusions of Adequacy

Even though these guys have been slinging out records since the '90s, I hadn't heard of them until today. Rollerball recently released yet another record, their 15th, called Two Feathers. I personally think that's a lot of records. I'm only just beginning to realize the depth and the assortment of layers of music this town has to offer. From what I've read and heard so far, I would pitch their sound as extremely varied - ranging from experimental jazz influenced rock to slower tunes that are atmospheric and ambient. Their sound often seems to carry a reverberating presence, akin to the expansive spatial dome of a cathedral, and along with it, the same intensity and seriousness one might find under that type of religious dome. Some cool shit here. Rollerball rocks rich, interesting and weird compositions with just piano, bass, drums, sax and female vocals. Take a minute and check it out.
- The Deli Joel Sommer

This is an album...that starts at one place and ends up somewhere else entirely by the disc's end. There have been so many twenty-first century bands and/or artists whose music is heavily influenced by 1970s progressive rock. But in most cases the artists are merely rehashing old ideas. Perhaps that is what makes Rollerball such a refreshing change of pace. The folks in this band write and record what could best be described as progressive pop/rock...but instead of aping and/or copying bands from the past, they simply use the ideas as a diving board to create their own unique sound. Some of the tracks on Two Feathers are almost normal sounding...while others are wildly unpredictable and experimental. You'd never know from listening to this CD that these folks have been at it for about fifteen years now. In addition to the CD, this package also includes a DVD with music videos from the 1990s and beyond, a film by Starbage Hands, and performances by Rollerball, OVO, and Ronin in 2005. So many listeners want a band to be easily pigeonholed and categorized. The folks in Rolllerball defy categorization and, by doing so, are creating their own unique niche in the world of music. Housed in a beautiful cardboard foldout sleeve. Recommended. TOP PICK.
-babysue.com

Female-lead darker music in the lounge/chamber pop vein, with a little bit of eccentricity. A little bit like the recent Evangelista or Blonde Redhead's Misery Is A Butterfly. Haunting and beautiful, with some more experimental noise/psych tracks here and there. I feel like the tracks lead by piano and vocals are the strongest, but it has really great saxophone work going on. Check out tracks 4 and 6! This also their 14th album!
-KUCI.org

It’s cold here in the Northeast, damn cold. Although for that matter it’s cold throughout much of the U.S. during this time of year. If you’re ready to warm yourself up go ahead and sit by the fire, get in a hot tub, take a hot shower or cuddle up with that sweetheart of yours and throw on a few of tracks from Rollerball’s new album “Two Feathers”. Be sure you pick those tracks with some caution as the album maintains and odd balance between genius and insanity. If you’re not digging the whole warm yourself up scenario then imagine you’re a sleuth, a James Bond type character walking into a bar and as you enter you see the sexiest woman you can imagine sitting solo sipping on a Martini. After your eyes lock with hers you glance at the band and quite fittingly notice it’s a jazz band that’s as smooth as the pickup lines you’re about to use on this new mistress of yours. The sounds you hear coming from “Two Feathers” entice you to ask her to dance. Is it the graceful piano player’s fingers edging swiftly from note to note that’s elevating your confidence? Or, the bright pitches of the saxophone that are making you feel sexy and daring? Maybe it’s the prowess of the lead singer as she eloquently caresses your ears with her mystifying voice. What about the funky drum beats going on? They are adding to the mood and atmosphere equally as much and you know what, it’s pretty cool. You get the idea by now. “Two Feathers” is jazzy but it’s also experimental in nature, tinkering with combinations of many different sounds and doing so in some unique ways. If you find that your super sleuth abilities are taking a nosedive in your attempt to win over the damsel in the bar there might just be more to the story. Beginning with tracks such as “Rick Wright” and “Say It” the album starts to go overboard and enter the point of being a little too odd to be relaxing. And in other songs such as “The Sac” the obscurity can become a tad monotonous making you wonder exactly what form of jazz this is. You actually might just find that half of the album is beautiful and the other half is somewhat in a bit of disarray which is why it’s suggested that you carefully select which songs you choose to warm yourself up to. Experimenting within different realms of music is a beautiful thing but can easily turn into a disaster if it begins to cross the threshold of becoming downright bizarre. Overall there’s much talent to be heard from Rollerball but tread lightly because you’ll hear some exquisite sounds mixed in with others that make you wonder exactly what the purpose is. [By: Andy Rajan]
-Wonkavision

Una storia lunga quindici album in quindici anni. Dall’uggia e la schizofrenia artistica di Portland. I Rollerball creano un altro splendido tassello di un puzzle senza fine. I paragoni in questi anni si sono sprecati. Il kraut rock dei Can a spasso con l’estatica visione del mondo di Sun Ra. Ma anche riferimenti ai concittadini Cerberus Shoal piuttosto che ai Califone. Rimane il fatto di una band che ha saputo tagliare e attraversare con nonchalance oltre due lustri di musica, senza rimanere condizionata da mode e trend passeggeri. Coerenza e grande intelligenza. Coi punti di forza che rimangono il sax di Amanda Mason Wiles, la voce e le tastiere magiche di Mae Starr, supportati da un sezione ritmica precisa più di un metronomo. In aggiunta alla confezione trova spazio anche un DVD che contiene video degli anni ‘90, un film di Starbage Hand (”The Three Brunos”) in cui i Rollerball sono protagonisti di un tour italiano-sloveno con Ovo e Ronin. Il tributo pinkfloydiano di ‘Rick Wright’ è un manifesto di minimalismo krauTronico che si immerge successivamente in ritmi tango-funkeggianti nel fantastico crescendo di pathos e lirismo presenti in ‘Camera’. Ma sono solo due segnalazioni. Inutile passare in rivista le undici mirabolanti presenze di un album affascinante, magnetico, primitivo, di istinti e passione vera. Magnifici. [****1/2]
-nerdsattack

Ma sì, stavolta partiamo dalla fine. Senza farla troppo lunga col proverbiale “ogni fine è un nuovo inizio” ascoltiamo Spool, traccia finale del nuovo album del collettivo di Portland e lì ci si chiarisce tutto, o quasi. I Rollerball vengono da un altro pianeta e Spool è il portale attraverso il quale ritorneranno lassù, in qualche sperduto ed evoluto pianeta, lontano anni luce da questa nostra Terra così ottusa e miope. Sette minuti abbondanti di droning alieno che sembra la rielaborazione di onde radio perse nel vuoto del cosmo. Letteralmente. Un gioco, ovviamente, il nostro, perché 15 anni e quasi altrettanti dischi dopo l’inizio di una carriera sfavillante e giocata costantemente a livelli altissimi è inutile mettersi lì a tentare descrizioni o elaborare definizioni che non siano la solita accozzaglia di aggettivi tronfi e ritriti. I Rollerball sono loro stessi, da sempre e per sempre e Two Feathers non sfugge alla regola. Punto e basta. Hanno dalla loro la capacità (a questo punto legittimamente ultraterrena) di costruire canzoni che sono minisuite iridescenti, piccoli microcosmi sonori in cui trova degno alloggio ogni genere musicale (psych, jazz, rock, avantgarde) concepito dall’uomo e messo in scena da un combo di grandissimi artisti. Umili e normali, ma con una immensa capacità nel creare sogni in musica. Cosa ben evidente nel dvd allegato che mostra spezzoni di live, qualche video, un mini-film dal titolo Two Brunos (con Ronin e OvO in giro per l’Europa) e una splendida improvvisazione collettiva con Jacopo Andreini dal titolo Jacopo’s House. Il problema di fondo è che la maggioranza degli umani purtroppo non ha i mezzi per comprendere la Bellezza che i Rollerball sistematicamente pongono di fronte a occhi e orecchie.
-sentireascoltare

E' sempre un piacere avere tra le mani un nuovo disco dei Rollerball. La band di Portland, Oregon, è ormai una garanzia di qualità. I suoi dischi, infatti, non deludono mai e dispensano sempre piacevoli emozioni. Non c'è da attendersi grosse sorprese, bensì la certezza che sapranno fare bene il loro compito. È così anche questa volta, con il loro recente lavoro intitolato “Two Feathers”. Anche qui, infatti, come siamo ormai abituati dopo ben quindici anni di onorata carriera, un rock che si apre alle molteplici ispirazioni, spaziando da momenti più cupi ad altri dove il suono si fa più arioso, utilizzando tutte le armi a propria disposizione, passando anche attraverso l'elettronica e il free-jazz. Difficile definire la loro musica una volta per tutte, come del resto è impossibile incasellare una creatività che si pone ben pochi limiti. Il nuovo cd esce insieme a un dvd che contiene alcuni video e un film sul tour del 2005 insieme ai nostri Ovo e Ronin tra Italia e Slovenia. Ospiti speciali anche Jacopo Andreini e Scott Rosenberg. Guido Siliotto
-Supermizzi

In quindici anni di carriera il gruppo di Portland (Oregon) non è ancora soddisfatto, per fortuna! Sente ancora fortemente la necessità di andare a scavare dove nessun altro sperimentatore sonoro è giunto. Come pochi altri musicisti e gruppi, i Rollerball sono alla continua ricerca di nuove sonorità, intrecciando generi tra i più disparati rendendosi così tra le realtà musicali più cosmopolite degli ultimi quindici anni. Non è un caso d’altronde che pubblichino per la Wallace, etichetta che li ha prodotti già nel 2006 e questo è il terzo album per la label lombrada. La struttura dei loro brani si attorciglia come sempre intorno al free jazz, ma le loro esigenze libertarie li porta in territori sonori nuovi, anche se in questa occasione più di una volta i riferimenti orientali sono molto marcati come è dimostrato dalla grafica dell'album. I territori raggiunti in “Two feathers” sono caratterizzati dalla lentezza, spesso coadiuvata da una psichedelia mantrica ed introspettiva. In diverse occasioni vibrazioni e malinconie si alternano e si completano, così come noises e jazz tribali quando non sono sostenuti da chitarre taglienti. Il cd è accompagnato da un dvd nel quale sono presenti alcuni video girati tra i ’90 e i primi del 2000 oltre alla documentazione del tour che il gruppo dell’Oregon ha realizzato con gli oVo, i Ronin in compagnia di Jacopo Andreini. Se siete stufi delle solite sonorità e sentite la forte urgenza di nuove cose, questo è il cd che fa per voi.
-Freakout Online

Ecco qui il "solito" disco dei Rollerball che è come dire il solito disco dei Portishead o dei Tortoise, infatti difficilmente scendono sotto il livello medio delle loro produzioni e quindi si parla di roba mediamente bella, come sempre. Per quanto non sia convinto del fatto che si tratti del migliore disco dei Rollerball (che forse è Behind The Barber) oltre che molto piacevole da ascoltare si tratta di uno dei dischi più semplici e più raffinati della loro carriera. La voce di Mae Starr suona sempre più fine, tanto come è vero che ogni tanti imbrocca delle melodie che lasciano al tappeto, come ad esempio il finale della quarta e la settima traccia (non scrivo i titoli solo perché il font simil egizio che hanno utilizzato non è il massimo della vita da leggere). Batterie e strumenti asciutti, effetti del banco mixer quasi assenti, se ci sono arrivano così felpati giusto da rendere tutto semplicemente per come suona. E' anche vero che ad un gruppo come i Rollerball la produzione del disco serve a ben poco, nel senso che sanno fare tutto ciò che serve per sviluppare una canzone (e ricordiamolo che sono un gruppo che scrive "canzoni"). Non paghi di avere solo un CD, i nostri amici hanno allegato al digipack un DVD che oltre a ad una serie di video contiene parti di tour, sessioni, live, battute, stralci di vita vissuta negli States ed in Italia e com'era prevedibile vedrete Bruno Dorella, gli Ovo e Jacopo Andreini coinvolti in prima persona o come intervistati o in veste di ospiti a vario titolo. Per quel che mi riguarda la parte video da sola varrebbe l'acquisto del prodotto, se non fosse altro per il fatto che regala al tutto un'atmosfera domestica ed allo stesso tempo psichedelica che da sempre sono due delle caratteristiche principali del gruppo di Portland.
-sodapop.it

Reviews for Catholic Pause/Catholic Paws on Silber

Rollerball were last featured by Gothic Beauty in 2004 & are back with a mind-bending release. While it is, for me, reminiscent of a soundtrack to a David Lynch film, I don't think even Lynch could come up with something this off the wall. The album defies description beyond, possibly, psychedelic lounge music. The album is backed by a full band of drummers, cellists, trombone players, electronics, you name it. This album goes as deeply into your head as it can &, before you know it, it's gone. Rollerball are truly for those who want to step off the beaten path to something a little... different. Wonderful. ~ David Poseidon, Gothic Beauty

Rollerball's 11th album (their 3rd for Silber) is entitled Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause, and is excellently packaged in an embossed/screen printed cardboard sleeve. The eclecticism expected of Rollerball is present here, from the arcane experimentalism of Quench, to the absolutely brilliant jazz-pop-rock of Erzulie, to the jazz-ambient of So This Is That?, to the demonic yowling and sinister sound manipulation of Mantis Segue, as well as a number of tracks that bridge the gap between song-based and experimental, such as the quirky and manically delivered lyrics of Sores, set to a combination of jazz and homemade experimental weirdness. Rollerball's more abstract and random moments are a bit too much for these ears, but at their best and most tuneful, they are truly great. Tracks like Erzulie, Tambien and End of Young Birds are especially fantastic and are a return to the greatness found on their Real Hair album. ~ Kim Harten, blissaquamarine

Hints of modern cabaret and free-association instrumentation make up Rollerball’s 11th album, Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause. Jumping from genres quicker than a Southerner can quote the Bible, this extremely eclectic quintet took only nine months to make their new album. Some of the 15 tracks some burn with fire and brimstone while others are pure instrumental post-modern carnival rides. Rollerball start their album with a bang with “Quench”, “Erzulie” and “Fucker” using instruments and electronics as aural weapons, but the Mazzy Star-meets-Thom Yorke beauty of (suitably named) Mae Starr’s voice is quickly replaced by what sounds like an entirely different band on “Sores” and “Break Your Neck”. Alternating singer S. de Leon S. comes across as a less-piano-driven Ben Folds as he jokingly sings about his girlfriend’s chicken parts. The middle of this album slows quite considerably and at times the band gets too wrapped up in pushing the musical envelope, sacrificing melody and structure for their art. There is something very Tom Waits-ian about this band’s sound and approach, but I think they would have faired better to make two distinct albums instead of one long, droning assemblage. There is a quip on the band’s website about them “living” at the Ranch Rollerball and Saloon where they dine and practice. There couldn’t be a more appropriate image of this band, which have truly created a musical smorgasbord with Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause. Rollerball are headed to heavy rotation on “Morning Goes Eclectic”. ~ Vivien Weimar, SickAmongthePure

The Rollerball story dates back to the early 90’s, 1994 to be exact where the band was formed in Portland. Since 1997 they’ve released over ten albums already and now here in 2005 Silber Records is releasing their new album called Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause. In the early days the band played some sort of power-pop music (whatever that may be) and then a few years down the road they got sick of that sound and added more members and altered their sound into something much different. The Rollerball of today is a bit hard to describe, but here goes. This group of five with several guest musicians plays some sort of strange jazzy, lounge music with ambient, rock, and experimental music influences. Strange I know, but this a strangely great album. My favorite song without question is the second track "Erzulie." This particular track uses a piano, bass, light percussion, vocals, and various brass instruments. The feeling the song has is that of a dark jazzy loungy sentiment, and well what can I say the song is incredible, but hard to explain. Another interesting song is "Sores," which starts out rather calm but as the song progresses the instruments gain momentum, and the vocalist starts to use some really wild voices. I also like "Tambien" a lot since it’s an up tempo song that uses an accordion, percussion, and various vocalists singing rather nicely. Largely though the album is instrumental or just uses wordless vocals. Most of the songs are weird mixed up jazz experimental like songs, which really can’t be described. You’d just have to hear them to understand them. All things considered Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause is a rather good but definitely unconventional album. Those that have interest in jazz, lounge, or just something different sounding should check this band out. ~ Blackwinged, Lunar Hypnosis

Drama queens with serious avant-garde credentials, Rollerball shapeshift with subtle grandiosity among krout rock, jazz, drone, gypsy, & afrobeat without the taint of dilettantism. Their great recent Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause adds yet another layer of mysterious beauty to the Portland ensemble's stunning repertoir. ~ Dave Segal, The Stranger

Out on the same label that re-issued Lycia's Estrella is the 5 piece Rollerball. With Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause they present their eleventh CD & their third on Silber. Soundwise Rollerball melt different ingredients from analog jazz to digital noise. Add to this a horn section with tuba & sax & you have a very enjoyable potpurri. If you doubt that this combo could work, consider that David Sylvian is the living proof that electronics should not limit their senses. The combination naturally makes that the whole as this album swims in a jazz atmosphere. Add to this female & male vocals that are close to Sting going blues & you have an extra border. Not a problem for me, perhaps it is for others. ~ Bernard Van Isacker, Side-Line

On their 11th album (the third for Silber) Rollerball continue their sonic experimentation mixing jazz-noise with pop sensibilities, ambient drones with surreal lyrics and launching the whole thing deep into space. Opening track ‘Quench’ welcome the listener in with tinkling bells and whispered vocal, as the instruments rumble and drone underneath slowly building the tension before ‘Erzulie’ takes over sounding like big band jazz played by a bunch of talented stoners. Further in ‘Tipping The Tree’ is a dub torch song, the pulsing rhythm overlaid with electronic effects and lashings of echo, whilst ‘sores’ is a jazz poem awash with glorious percussion and driving bass the vocals dealing with a bad case of chicken-pox.’Tambien’ adds a touch of melody to the proceedings, the brass creating a warm ambience to the tune, which is quickly forgotten as the instrumental ‘Jack To Jac’ disintegrates into some free-jazz noise squalling its way through the listeners ears before ‘Quad Four’ brings back the warm brass blanket to massage the noise away. Eventually we reach the albums final track ‘Maime’. Beginning with eastern percussion our eyes are torn out so that we can see, the musicians creating a brooding ambience where the shadows hide our deepest fears, then silence, before a maelstrom of discordant noise finally drives any sense of reality from our minds. Managing to contain fifteen songs within an hour of music gives this album a schizophrenic cut and paste feel, something that is enhanced by the use of thirteen players (including a horn section), allowing each song a chance to utilise a different combination of sounds, creating a wide-ranging and beautifully realised body of work. With the emphasis on rhythm and texture Rollerball have produced their finest work so far, more complex, darker, less structured and a fantastic ride from start to finish. ~ Simon Lewis, Ptolemaic Terrascope

Just because Rollerball, a quintet from Portland, Oregon, have not used any of their last ten albums to present a coherent vision of what they may (or may not) be, it doesn't mean that Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause will be any different. Indeed, this 11th studio album, taking its name from a not especially edifying homophonic coincidence, often sounds like the product of several groups. The transit from the unstructured free jazz of "Jack to Jac" to the magnificent sleazy progress of songs like "Erluzie" & "Tambien" is a long, long one. But just possibly it's this journey that the listener is meant to keep in mind. Tracks will often incorporat what seem like found sounds: highway ambience, engine noises, more arcane field recordings. The chord stretching uluations on "Mantis Segue" probably don't come from the bottom drawer of an ethnomusicologist, but one has the feeling that they'd like to be. The one pattern that emerges from this most catholic approach to songwriting is this: for every ear-bending squawl of one track, you know that its successor will be a rather good song, in the mould of Yo La Tengo or The Devics after an all night bender. The swaying, parping brass on "Ederlezi" is a wonderful effort in staying upright and, while pieces like "Quench" - a spoken word intro on which Stefania Pedretti's delivery is slurred & so too is Molly Griffith's cello - are challenging, then the thrill of Rollerball's pounding piano on "Erzulie" or Griffith's fluid strings on "Maime" are well worth the bewilderment. ~ Louise Gray, The Wire

I’ve never heard of Rollerball before, but a quick glance at their biography teaches me that this is already the band’s eleventh (!) album. It is called Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause and is the third full-length on Silber, a record label that’s releasing music of a wide variety of genres. Rollerball exists for over a decade now. You might have noticed their Cochon records release in the past. Rollerball’s highly experimenting with all kinds of instruments, voices and sounds on Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause. This hodgepodge of sounds and timbres lucidly creates a colourful album that’s very organic and diverse and stretches across genres and boundaries. This one time the band sounds like a modern pop band, minutes later they’re playing in the vein of Matmos, seconds later they’re sounding like a progressive rock band or they play a Constellation type of post-rock. It’s very hard to digest, and it doesn’t get easier to listen to when the band’s searching it’s hail in noise and cacaphony in the meantime. The band’s audibly not really interested in firm song structures and a tight rhythm. They’re freejazzing all over, with a heap of musicians playing a heap of instruments: tuba, drums, bass, keyboards, percussion, sax, clarinet, trumpet… The result is not a bombastic album, as one would probably expect from a band with this instrumentation. The band’s not really using all instruments simultaneously together to create songs that smack our heads hard down to the floor, but creates an album that’s probably more about sounds than it is about songs. Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause clearly is an album that seeks interaction and needs to be listened to actively. If not, it might drown in a mess of experiments and noises. It’s searching for a way into your brains and looks for a place to settle down up there. There’s some real good things on here, but there’s equally as much low-quality passages that critically need to be waded through. And especially the latter made me conclude that this is an album that’s definitely interesting, but didn’t fully convince me. ~ Thomas Byttebier, Semtex Magazine

After the slightly disappointing Behind the Barber (not bad, simply a bit insubstantial), Rollerball answered with one of their best albums yet, the more song-oriented Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause. Actually, the 15 tracks on this CD are almost evenly split between songs and instrumentals, but Mini Wagonwheel and co. are smoothing things down on this release. Exit the ska-punk episodes: the songs lean toward intelligent pop, with accessible arrangements and moving melodies. Of course, things are not that simple and the lyrics would not pass by unnoticed on mainstream radio (even songs like the beautiful "Erzulie" and "Coburn" have an odd atmosphere), but Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause contains some of Rollerball's best-written, most memorable material. Plus, it features Mae Starr as a full-fledged singer, her deep alto voice crooning seductively. As usual with this band, the instrumentals shuffle the deck: odd beats, strange solos, a reggae feel here, an avant-jazz angularity there -- they act like prisms showing different facets of what has just been heard. Both songs and instrumentals are kept short and to the point: no wasted time, no extra chorus repeated for the sake of duration. Melodies are catchy enough to catch them the first time, so once they have been exposed, the band moves on to the next transitional tune, then straight into another song. The basic quintet receives help from a cast of regular friends, including singer Stefania Pedretti and drummer Bruno Dorella (of OvO), tubist Ben Wright, and maverick sax player Jacopo Andreini. There is not a single throwaway on this album, except maybe for the "hidden" lo-fi jam, which will definitely not be to everyone¹s liking. But who cares, as long as we have songs like "Erzulie", "Tipping the Tree", and "Sores"? Recommended. ~François Couture, All Music Guide

Rollerball’s 11th album, Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause, is an unconventionally experimental psycho-jazz works that is, at once, entertaining and gothic in nature. Discordantly ambient using conventional instruments and free-style in method makes this album a foray into the dark side of music, like an out of control acid trip. Most of the songs like “So This is That?” can be quite interesting in a “closed-eye” environment where you can let the music float through you rather than as background music. However, when the next song, “Sore” pokes its head into your cranium, it is a departure in that its free-style psycho-jazz separates the flow. You’ll hear sax, trumpets, clarinets, and trombones amidst drums, bass, guitars, and keys. Mix in the gothically ethereal vocals (the female vocalist reminds one of a Patti Smith without borders) that permeate many of these songs and merge with the jam-like style, and you get a highly experimental album done by Rollerball with no audience in mind. Rollerball is music for music’s sake regardless of its unconventionality. Having stated that concerning this album as well as their previous works, it is important for you to know that not everyone will be open to Rollerball’s style. It is imperative that you enjoy music in every form for you to be comfortable and happy with this and previous Rollerball releases. However, if you’re that kind of listener, then a solidly relaxed atmosphere (a bit of the toke wouldn’t hurt here either), then what Rollerball offers on Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause is well intentioned and works under controlled situations. Not every song on this album is of the right grade. Their “Ederlezi” track is quite selfish and thus is a distraction from the flow of the album. But this is a small hiccup to an otherwise interesting album. Remember, music is music under many circumstances. Remove the familiar, and let the music flow on its own. You’ll get more out of it. But also remember, Rollerball is for open minds. ~ Matt Rowe, Music Tap

Before I received this review copy I was unaware of the existence of this band, nevertheless Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause is the eleventh album released by this fellowship from North Carolina. Given the fact that their first album was released in 1997, it's as plain as day the ladies and gentlemen of this band have kept themselves busy the previous eight years. The cd that can be found in the stylish cardboard packaging lets us hear music which can most certainly be called original and even obstinate. Jazz, pop, digital noise as well as ambient caress your ears here. To get one's hands on a cd such as this one is not very common for a Gothtronic reviewer like me. Who knows, maybe I've been a jazzcat in an earlier life and was it therefore predestinated that I had to judge this longplayer. Yeah, right. Besides the five regular band members a total of eight(!) guest musicians have contributed to this fifteen-track album. This adds to the diversity but fortunately the amount of input doesn't derail the record. Nevertheless the musical arsenal featured here is quite overwhelming: not only several male and female vocalists, but also keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion, drums, electronic drums, sampler, clarinets, alto saxophones, trumpets, accordion, tuba, cello and valve trombone have been used in order to transform the band's vision into sound. Now that's what I call an instrumentarium! This sweltering and organic sounding cd has several faces. Accessible, hazy, relaxing, crawling under your skin, emotional, energetic, it all applies to Rollerball. There are several pop songs on this disc which sound like a post punk band (think of Wire or Lost Sounds) happily dabbling into jazz. This results in songs such as the catchy "Erzulie," also "Tipping The Tree" and "Sores" are palatable. However, this band likes to experiment and to explore frontiers. This leads to odd ambient and even almost lounge-like music which reminds me mostly of a jazz approach of the Italian act T.A.C. does or a more acoustic version of Aphex Twin's works. Even the altfolk played by Black Forest/Black Sea comes in mind. It's obvious that this band manages to escape a clear classification. It won't hurt to listen to it before buying or visit a show of them first if they're in the neighbourhood. A bit weird, yet tasty. ~ Nanhold, Gothtronic

I don't know if this is a good thing, but I'm starting to like this free form alt jazz shit that I've been getting in. Rollerball has me inspired to bust out some watercolors & gauche & do some nature studies. I'm not usually into dub or hip-hop beats, but the laid strings & horns sucked me in. At times it sounds like the orchestral build up in "Day in the Life" by the Beatles, but lo-fi. If you like Bablicon, Need New Body, & OvO then you'll love this. ~ Mike Turner, The Bee's Knees

Talk about difficult to describe. The folks in Rollerball truly do create music that stretches across boundaries and continents. One moment they sound like The Residents...a moment later they sound like Yoko Ono and/or Jarboe...and a song or two later they sound like some updated British progressive rock band from the 1970s...or a modern classical ensemble...or even a moody modern progressive pop band. By continually transforming themselves and their style, the folks in this band are bound to lose almost everyone in the process. And that is something we just have to admire. Rollerball consists of Mini Wagonwheel, Mae Starr, Gilles, Amanda Mason Wiles, and S. de Leon S....but adding additional assistance are eight additional musicians. Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause is so intelligent and so difficult to digest that the album will, most likely, only be appreciated by a few small group of people. But for that tiny group of open minded folks...there are some really great treats to be found here. Cool confusing compositions like "Quench," "Fucker," "Break In Your Neck," "Tambien," and "Quad Four" have true depth and amazing quality. Absolutely stunning packaging on this one... ~ Babysue

You can never be quite sure what to expect when there’s time for a new release from Portland’s Rollerball. There’s the air-polluted jazz and fragile folk/chamber explorations of Trail of the Butter Yeti (still their true masterpiece if you ask me) and the poppy and cabaret theatric side of their Silber debut Real Hair. If we go further back in their 11 albums long discography we’ll find all sorts of deranged, jazz streaked expeditions, drones, psychedelia, skronking noise-beats laced with samples and there’s even some power pop thrown in for good measure. Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause offers a bit of all these styles although it emphasizes on the kind of spacious, fluid and organic jazz no one but these cats ever could do. To call Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause free jazz will give you the wrong idea, but this is truly music that is free from any kind of constraint and is free to wander wherever it wants to go next. It’s all fairly melodious and at times even catchy but it’s still as much an album about sounds as about songs. All in all another capable and inspiring addition to an already impressive back catalogue. ~ Mats Gustafson, The Broken Face

Well the title of Rollerball’s latest disc is highly timely, what with the old pope dying, the conclave shit, and the Catholic Church installing a former member of the Hitler Youth as their new leader. We are living in fucked up times & Rollerball’s fucked up music is entirely appropriate for them. The packaging on this disc is beautifully letter pressed. It has great wood block prints as inserts. Also included are absolutely wonderful & hilarious portraits of the band. The music itself is as eclectic as ever. On this disc they have guest members from the crazy Italian band Ovo: they add a creepy feel to the already far-out mix. “Erzulie” is in the tradition of “Wyoming,” from their earlier disc. It features the fantastic piano and vocals of Mae Starr. Rollerball’s trademark wall of horns of Shane & Amanda is featured. Mini-Wagonwheel has a great burping bass line while Gilles' drums rumble and crash. “Sores” is my favorite song on the disc. It starts sounding like a creepy children song about chicken pox. “Blisters and sores, blood and gore, my baby’s got chicken pox and golden locks.” Then frenetic drum machine is added to the mix, with clattering piano and squawking horns. The song ends with a dead chicken lying near a fence. I really dig the more dubby shit on this disc like “Coburn.” Everything floats together on this jam, with Mae’s vocal that has a weird echo on it, and the booming drum beats and subtle electronics. It has the great line, “The scent that wraps around like weight. The hand that fucks the taste.” Rollerball has returned to their roots of home recording with this disc. I feel this style of recording well suits this band. Home recording allows Rollerball to explore the furthest reaches of their sonic galaxy. This disc finds a balance between their more far-out extraterrestrial dub, skronk-jazz, noise rock and their more down-to-earth gypsy pop. ~ Dan Cohoon, Amplitude Equals Frequency Squared

Rollerball is Mini Wagonwheel, bass, keyboards, percussion, guitar, Mae Star, vocals, keyboard, sampler, accordion, Gilles, drums, percussion, electronic drums, Amanda Mason Wiles, alt sax, vocals, S. De Leon S., trumpet, clarinet, vocals, keyboard, percussion, with Ben Wright on tuba, Italian Jacopo Andreini on alto sax, vocals, percussion, Jamie Smith (Dang Head) on clarinet, Dylan Hinkley (Dang Head) on valve trombone, Molly Griffith, cello, Bruno Dorella, drums, The Led, vocals. This is already their 11th album. And I must say it is a hard ball to break. Their music is genre crossing rock with jazz and other elements, with an intelligent, complex developed and matured sound. There is a variety of structures, song orientated, theatre related, freeminded jazz improvisational, with lots of switches and elements of experimenting, hard to describe its varied focus, because it's always somewhere in some mix. ~ Gerald Van Waes, psychevanhetfolk

There's quite a bit to like here. It's unpredictable, and keeps you on edge, listening for what could possibly happen next; unfettered by traditional song structures, it's so free and organic, exploring. At times it grabs you emotionally, but a lot of the time it distances itself in some remote and wandering place . . . you feel like you want to leave it alone, to sort out it's own thoughts, because there's no possible way for you to approach or speak to it. I need to listen to it a few dozen more times. ~ Static Signals

Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause is Portland, Oregon based Rollerball's 11th album and their third for the Silber label. The core of the band is a quintet, playing guitar, bass, keyboards, drums & percussion, accordion, saxophone, clarinet and vocals, plus numerous guests on drums, vocals, cello and a variety of horns and winds. I've heard Rollerball's last several releases and have learned that it's hard to know what to expect from these folks from one album to the next. But they've never failed to at least intrigue, and often delight, with their well crafted combination of varied and contrasting elements into a unique and stimulating whole. Ok, lots happening here, and it often changes radically from one track to the next. There are 15 relatively short tracks on the CD. Among the highlights are "Quench" and "Mantis Segue", which have the most devastating vocals on the album. "Quench" features haunting, whispery vocals (in Italian) against an avant-garde free-improv/classical styled rumbling of horns, strings, drums and drones. "Mantis Segue" is similar but instead of horns we've got prominent percussion, scratchings and electronics. "Erzulie", "Tambien" and "Quad Four" are pop songs based in avant-prog rock with jazz elements and, particularly on "Quench", seductive melodies. "Sores" is a fun, strange song with nutty lyrics and vocals that are a dead ringer for Little Fyodor. "Tipping The Tree" is a very cool mixture of sultry lounge jazz, Dub, dance grooves and spacey atmospherics. "Break In Your Neck" is similar but based in New Orleans jazz. Very hard to describe but pretty wild and captivating stuff. "So This Is That?" consists of cosmic space keyboards and freaky jazz horns swirling within a light Dub coating. This is one I would have really like to hear further developed beyond its mere 3 minutes. "Maime" is the 16 minute closing track and starts off like it's going to be a lengthy synthesis of everything we've heard on the album so far. But after a few minutes we get silence. Ok fine… when bands do this you can usually predict that at some point some secret treaty will kick in, and sure enough around the 8 minute mark the music starts again and it's a quirky, oddball kind of jazz jam with elements of Sun Ra, free-jazz and experimental free-improv. The sound isn't so hot and I'm guessing it's a recording of a live performance. In summary, if these descriptions sound like Rollerball are stylistically all over the place, they really aren't. There's variety to be sure, but the band have set their sights on a handful of ideas which they've developed, molded and mutated into the enjoyable and remarkably creative set of music that Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause has to offer. I can imagine this appealing to a varied audience… avant-garde free-improv fans who like an injection of melody and song, free-jazz lovers with eclectic tastes, and avant-prog/RIO fans interested in something with a more experimental edge. ~ Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations

On their 11th album (the third for Silber) Rollerball continue their sonic experimentation mixing jazz-noise with pop sensibilities, ambient drones with surreal lyrics and launching the whole thing deep into space. Opening track ‘Quench’ welcome the listener in with tinkling bells and whispered vocal, as the instruments rumble and drone underneath slowly building the tension before ‘Erzulie’ takes over sounding like big band jazz played by a bunch of talented stoners. Further in ‘Tipping The Tree’ is a dub torch song, the pulsing rhythm overlaid with electronic effects and lashings of echo, whilst ‘sores’ is a jazz poem awash with glorious percussion and driving bass the vocals dealing with a bad case of chicken-pox.’Tambien’ adds a touch of melody to the proceedings, the brass creating a warm ambience to the tune, which is quickly forgotten as the instrumental ‘Jack To Jac’ disintegrates into some free-jazz noise squalling its way through the listeners ears before ‘Quad Four’ brings back the warm brass blanket to massage the noise away. Eventually we reach the albums final track ‘Maime’. Beginning with eastern percussion our eyes are torn out so that we can see, the musicians creating a brooding ambience where the shadows hide our deepest fears, then silence, before a maelstrom of discordant noise finally drives any sense of reality from our minds. Managing to contain fifteen songs within an hour of music gives this album a schizophrenic cut and paste feel, something that is enhanced by the use of thirteen players (including a horn section), allowing each song a chance to utilise a different combination of sounds, creating a wide-ranging and beautifully realised body of work. With the emphasis on rhythm and texture Rollerball have produced their finest work so far, more complex, darker, less structured and a fantastic ride from start to finish. ~ Simon Lewis, Ptolemaic Terrascope

Following a bold, self-described blend of "Tones on Tail, Miles Davis, (and) Califone", Rollerball climb without a rope to polar opposite genres, not really caring if they hang off a ledge (and fall) now and then. The opening bang, "Quench", draws you in, pushing hard into experimental territories with low cello thunder, echo-drenched female vocals, chimes and other otherworldly disturbances. However, just like that, the band launches into a ballad ("Erzulie") that sounds like Fiona Apple tackling Gershwin: sexy vocals soar above heavy piano chords and horns finally explode as the band goes nuts and a cacophony of sampled telephone voices fills the sound field. By the third track ("Fucker"), you'll realize that their liberal approach isn't letting up; you're treated to processed synthetic dumbek feeding back into its own rumbling voice, an organ drone in tow. As mentioned, Rollerball's need to experiment sometimes outweighs what might be right for the album's continuity. After the trip-hoppy "So This is That?", they mix it up with "Sores", a combination of carnival barking-cum-hoedown style voice (shouting about chicken pox, "blisters and sores, blood and gore / my baby's got..."), fickle sax licks and hyperactive drum machine patterns. "Coburn"'s groovy funk is interrupted by the neo-polka "Ederlezi", which finds a home somewhere between Bartók and nursery rhyme, nonsensical falsettos blasting alongside messy accordion and tuba. The band makes a handful of these uncomfortable shifts, giving the disc a "various artists" aesthetic and negating the flow established by the previous few tracks. Though the abrupt scene changes disrupt the album's momentum, the songs individually exhibit genuine creativity, attentive songwriting and focused performances. In the same way that it took a while to make it all the way through Tom Waits's eclectic Bone Machine and Beck's ghetto-meets-the Ozarks Odelay, Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause's many parts become more of a cohesive whole with each listen. ~ Dave Madden, Splendid

You can never be quite sure what to expect when there’s time for a new release from Portland’s Rollerball. There’s the air-polluted jazz and fragile folk/chamber explorations of Trail of the Butter Yeti (still their true masterpiece if you ask me) and the poppy and cabaret theatric side of their Silber debut Real Hair. If we go further back in their 11 albums long discography we’ll find all sorts of deranged, jazz streaked expeditions, drones, psychedelia, skronking noise-beats laced with samples and there’s even some power pop thrown in for good measure. Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause offers a bit of all these styles although it emphasizes on the kind of spacious, fluid and organic jazz no one but these cats ever could do. To call Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause free jazz will give you the wrong idea, but this is truly music that is free from any kind of constraint and is free to wander wherever it wants to go next. It’s all fairly melodious and at times even catchy but it’s still as much an album about sounds as about songs. All in all another capable and inspiring addition to an already impressive back catalogue. ~ Mats Gustafson, The Broken Face

This is already their 11th album. And I must say it is a hard ball to break. Their music is genre crossing (indie post-)rock with jazz and other elements, with an intelligent, complex developed and matured sound. There is a variety of structures, song orientated, theatre related, freeminded jazz improvisational, with lots of switches and elements of experimenting, hard to describe its varied focus, because it’s always somewhere in some mix. ~ Progressive Music

Portland's Rollerball are a schizophrenic bunch - happier exploring every available musical avenue than getting ensnared in creative cul de sacs. Previous albums have seen them try their hand at everything from deranged cosmic jazz and psychedelic blowouts to fragile folk/chamber explorations and even the occasional foray into power pop. Critics might throw the accusation of 'jack of all trades, master of none' at the quintet (for this album they are also joined by a host of guest musicians to augment and extend their palette), but Rollerball handle their material with such aplomb and with a refreshing lack of pretension that each style seems an equal component of their own equation. Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause showcases the band's proficiency and creative appetite - in fact it serves as both microcosm and primer for Rollerball's 11-album career. Free music and jazz form the foundations for their creations, allowing them to incubate, hatch and prosper. Accordions wheeze, accompanied by wild-eyed drumming and percussive salvos, duelling male-female vocals harmonize over a bed of ambient whispers to create amorphous sound collages. This album's two standout tracks, however, occur when Rollerball take to more conventional shapes. "Erzulie" sounds like the dark gothic cabaret of The Black Heart Procession if they were fronted by ex-Come songstress Thalia Zedek. Elsewhere, "Tambien" captures the magickal air of a Crowly-mass before transforming into a burlesque chant, in praise of unspeakable occult endeavours, singing "Black claims my heart. . . Hands off the moon, its not yours." Darkly beautiful. It would be easy, of course, for Rollerball to concert all their energies in this direction, churning out melancholic, yet fundamentally cute, pop vignettes. For one it would undoubtedly see them held fast to the bosom of alternative America. But this would be a waste and a pity. The very reasons why Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause is such a pleasurable body of work are its ambition and scope. Without sounding like poor facsimiles of anyone, they manage to navigate vast territories that, if not unchartered, have been rarely undertaken with such persuasiveness. ~ Spencer Grady, Dusted

Onzième album pour cette formation expérimentale américaine et troisième à paraître sur Silber. Rollerball y explore plus que jamais les limites floues entre structure et improvisation, expérimentation et composition, ombre et obscurité, suivant de temps à autre une mélodie hantée puis filant dans des ouvertures free jazz, cabaret noir, psychédéliques, drone ou free. Unique. ~ Derives

Da quando si sono accasati presso l’etichetta americana Silbermedia, i Rollerball non si fermano più. Dopo varie peripezie hanno finalmente trovato in questa label il partner ideale per le loro produzioni. Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause segue quindi gli ultimi due dischi usciti per la Silbermedia (recensione in archivio) e ne conferma pathos e valore. In questa occasione il gruppo americano si presenta in un ensamble allargato a molti dei ‘soliti’ nomi che affollano le produzioni della band. Accanto al nocciolo centrale costituito dalla mente, Mini Wagonwheel, bassista, dal batterista Gilles e dalle splendide voci di Mae Starr, Amanda Mason Wiles e S. de Leon (anche alle tastiere, sampler, accordian, alto saxophone, tromba, clarinetto e percussioni), ritroviamo così compagni di vecchia data come i ‘nostri’ Stefania Pedretti, Bruno Dorella e Jacopo Andreini, più altri collaboratori. Questo nuovo disco (dovrebbe essere l’undicesimo se non ce ne siamo persi qualcuno per strada) prosegue sulla scia dei precedenti in un mix di psidechelia, Canterbury sound, jazz, elettronica, folk e trovate originali. A questo punto la domanda sorge spontanea: perché recensire ogni volta un disco dei Rollerball dal momento che la musica non si discosta poi tanto dalle precedenti uscite? Rispondo a mia volta con una domanda: perché volersi per forza privare di qualcosa che è indubbiamente ‘bello’? Per dire qualcosa in più, i Rollerball scrivono da sempre grandi canzoni; ogni brano, per i quali inventano ogni volta un arrangiamento diverso, fa storia a sé; coinvolgono, ammaliano, inquietano, stimolano l’attenzione, in un equilibrio perfetto tra parti strumentali senza cedimenti e timbri di voce che si rincorrono e spiazzano (se ne distinguono almeno tre: la voce angelica e carica di soul di Mae Starr, quella schizofrenica di S. De Leon e quella disturbata di Stefania Perdetti, nonché il raddoppio di Amanda Mason Wiles). Che non si dica un ascolto per soli fans. ~ Alfredo Rastelli, Sands-Zine

Rollerball sono un'istituzione dell'universo indie degli ultimi dieci anni. Hanno attraversato tutti gli scenari immaginabili per approdare ad una originalissima visione del mondo in cui i generi musicali non esistono più. È per questo motivo che sembra che cambino pella da un disco all'altro, da un concerto all'altro, quasi da un brano all'altro di uno stresso disco. Ma non è così, perchè i Rollerball hanno semplicemente abbattuto alcune delle barriere musicali che a tutt'oggi misicisti e semplici ascoltatori creano nelle loro teste. E lo hanno fatto creando un loro stile originale, riconoscibile ed in continua evoluzione. Su Catholic Paws/Catholic Pause si presentano come un quintetto (basso, tastiere, percussioni, fisarmonica, voci, batteria, clarinetto, tromba e sassofono) aiutato da un'altra mezza dozzina abbondante di musicisti (trombone, tuba, violoncello, e ancora clarinetto, sassofono, voci e batteria). Tra cui troviamo Stefania Pedretti (Ovo), Bruno Dorella (Maise) e Jacoppo Andreini, segno tangibile dell'amore dei Rollerball per il Bel Paese. Rispetto al precedente Behind the Barber, uscito sempre per l'americana Silber e colmo di enfasi jazz, il nuono lavoro sposta la bussola su sonorità più psichedeliche e liquide ("Tipping th Tree," "So This Is That"), quasi a voler rendere omaggio ai grandissimi Gong. Ed in fatto di anarchia i Rollerball non sono secondi a nessuno. ~ Roberto Mandolini, Losing Today

Catholic Paws, racchiuso in una splendida confezione cartonata disenata da Mae Starr e Shane DeLeon, è l'undicesimo album del combo di Portland (pubblicato dalla Silber comei precedenti Real Hair e Behind the Barber), il più compiuto dai tempi di Trail of the Butter Yeti del 2001. "Erzulie" e "Quad Four" s;innalzano in un sublime tripudio di fiati, "So This is That?", "Tambien" e "Coburn" sono fluide danze nottune, dolci spirali dalle quali non vorrete uscire mai più. Il merito è anche dei tanti ospiti dei padroni di casa: il sax di Jacopo Andreini, la tuba di Ben Wright, il clarinetto e trombone di Jamie Smith e Dylan Hinkley dei Dang Head, la voce e la batteria di Stefania Pedrini e Bruno Dorella degli OVO. Composizione o improvvisazione, canzoni o suoni. Quandi si parla dei Rollerball, queste diventano inutili sottgliezze. Loro vogliono soltanto rubarvi il cuore. Lasciateli fare. ~ Raffaele Zappala, Rockerilla

Solo la splendida confezione che racchiude il nuovo lavoro dei Rollerball fa nascere una strana sensazione di volerlo possedere, ma fermarsi al fattore visivo sarebbe una grave mancanza di rispetto nei confronti di questa sbalorditiva band americana. I Rollerball sono arrivati all’undicesimo album e non sembrano aver perso lo smalto dei giorni migliori. Già il precedente ‘Behind The Barber’ ci aveva entusiasmato grazie alla sua carica folle e sperimentale ma con ‘Catholic Paws / Chatolic Pause’ i nostri si sono superati. Il nuovo disco è splendido e racchiude ancora una volta l’insolito connubio tra musica sperimentale e psichedelica, free-jazz ed elettronica tutto tinto da venature dark. Difficile poter dire quale sia il loro pubblico e forse avrei potuto capirlo nel loro recente passaggio italiano, ma ahimé me li sono persi. Sicuramente ci troviamo innanzi ad un sound difficilmente catalogabile e per certi versi indigesto, ma al contempo estremamente fantasioso ed elitario. Ce ne fossero band come i Rollerball! Nel frattempo teniamoci stretti questi cinque ragazzi di Portland! ~ Lux, Kronic