Mako Sica are still in no hurry. On their second, Dual Horizon, the band follow the same path, a slow, meandering path at that, as they did on their debut, Mayday At Strobe, and god bless them for it. In a world of easy pay-offs and cheap thrills, Mako Sica force you to pay close attention to what they are doing. The reward doesn’t come at specific points mind you. Your reward comes with the whole. Dual Horizon is an album, three songs total, that gets inside of the listener as it gently guides from start to finish.

Mako Sica, comprised of Brent Fuscado, Michael Kendrick, and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek, have once again recorded live without overdubs. The big difference this time is that they went into the studio to do it, lending Dual Horizon a clearer sound. For a band that relies on subtlety this makes a huge difference. The restraint shown in not stuffing the record with overdubs only serves to cement the band’s commitment to their sound.

As for that sound? Is it experimental? Free form? Progressive? I’m not sure I have the answer. As with Mayday At Strobe the songs come apart, wander, and hang by a thread. The opener, “I’Itoi”, hits a double time early on that is somehow fast without feeling it at all. Later, it hits a groove that is as straight forward as can be. This lasts maybe a minute before falling into a wind chime filled chant. It may sound frustrating on paper, this inability to maintain a rhythm, but Mako Sica move so effortlessly and comfortably from rhythm to chaos that you find yourself anticipating and hoping for the unexpected.

“5th One Is The Dark”, the second track, is all atmosphere. It may be the most soundtrack-like of any of their songs, although quite possibly to the saddest movie ever made. The song feels like the band just blowing in the wind, as if they hung their instruments out to dry and recorded what nature made. Mako Sica’s music has an uncanny ability to conjure those kinds of images.

No song better encapsulates that than the 21 minute “Dunes”, which covers all of side B. It quite literally rolls along on a deep bass line and quietly grooves as actual dunes after which it is named. It does find longer and more sustainable grooves, which Przemyslaw and Brent twist dry guitar lines over. When it does break down, it’s not so much dunes that are felt but the ocean’s rolling tides. Both the song and album come to an increasingly creepy end as the guitars fade away and deep chants take over. It feels like being alone as night falls, and the sounds begin to surround you. The trumpet flurry that follows only adds to the chaos. What starts out so hopeful ends in a much darker place. “Dunes” is one scary tune.

Rarely do albums conjure up so much imagery. Bands like Calexico, for example, feel Southwest. But you’re mostly left thinking about the culture behind their music. Mako Sica somehow get inside your head and make you see and feel places. Places I’ve never been. And like those places, whether you see the desert, forest, dunes, whatever, their music is both as pretty and, at times, as scary. It’s a pretty remarkable feat, and one that like so many truly remarkable things, takes some time and patience to be fully realized.

Mako Sica -- “5th One is the Dark” -- Live at the Hideout

Chicago’s Mako Sica are in no hurry. They aren’t terribly interested in giant crescendos or massive riffs. This (mostly) instrumental band, consisting of Michael Kendrick on percussion, Przemyslaw Drazek on guitar and trumpet and Brent Fuscaldo occasionally on vocals, utilize an array of instruments such as guitar, congas and something known as a thumb piano to instead explore the space between said crescendos and riffs.

Their debut, Mayday At Strobe, out on Permanent Record’s house label, their 9th such release, was recording live at Strobe Recording and that live setting gives the record a strange, distant vibe that at times, in concert with the moaning vocals, reaches some pretty dark places.

But by no means is this a Sunn0))) record, although again that reference has some merit. You don’t put on Sunn0))) looking for instant gratification, and the two songs on the Mayday At Strobe, W and Red Rivers, clock in at 15:25 and 11:45 respectively, so time is required to fully wrap your head around the music. The thing is, even in a post-Mogwai or Sigur Ros world, this record is an anomaly. There are few traditional “payoffs”. W is the heavier of the two, with a sense of doom laying low beneath rough-edged guitar lines but it decends into a void for minutes before returning. Red Rivers is more loose but even when the tempo picks up with an almost Middle Eastern disco vibe, it just as quickly breaks off into a rambling, stumbling, droning ending.

And that’s the thing about this record: it wants to both slowly grow and build around you while at the same time keep you totally off balance. I have the natural tendency, as you may know, to look for comparisons to other bands, to see influences. At times the jammy qualities lead me to say Santana if Santana were cool. This reference troubles me too much, though. There’s obviously a Middle Eastern thing going on and, if you listen really closely, you’ll hear a faint hint of Yes’s spacey side. But none of this truly suffices because, despite these hints, you won’t know what to tell your friends.

That’s the brilliance of Mayday At Strobe. Mako Sica live in a world all their own. They are a band that seem more about what they are not doing than what they are. I’m not sure how to convince you that this is a good thing beyond saying you’ve probably never heard much like it. They are experimental without going so far out that you don’t want to come back. They are beautiful but just as willing to let their songs completely fall apart. And somehow they have a sound that is both intimate and totally expansive. It all adds up to a pretty exciting listen that you might find yourself going back to just as soon as it ends.

Note: This review was for the vinyl release. I was told for fidelity purposes Permanent decided to only release two of the four songs recorded at the session. They do, however, include a free download of the entire session with purchase.
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Catch Mako Sica Saturday, November 21, at the The Hideout. Tickets are available right now at Ticketweb.com for $5!
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