MONOCOT - Direction We Know LP

"Monocot is an improvising instrumental duo comprised of drummer Jayson Gerycz (Cloud Nothings) and guitarist Rosali Middleman. Rosali's records on Siltbreeze and Scissor Tail are great, but they seemed more focused on songs more than anything else.

They both do have great guitar on them, but that didn't seem like it was her main thing. Jayson and Rosali met in Cleveland in 2018 when she was playing with Purling Hiss. In this duo Rosali pulls out all the stops, and plays in a way she has only hinted at on earlier records.

Flowing sheets of both psych and free-form rippery careen all over the place. Some parts remind me of Matt Valentine at his outer pinnacle, but the intensely lateral spread of Jayson's percussion has a way of making the roar seem a lot more contained and sensical than it otherwise might. And although it doesn't exactly sound like anything they've actually done, the tone here makes me remember bits I've heard by the Corsano/Chasny Duo that really pushed all my buttons.

This Monocot session ran through night and into the morning. When it was over neither of the musicians remembered just what it was that they'd played Everything just happened without plans or rules to hem things in. Freedom can be a messy business, but when it's good it's truly liberating. And Direction We Know is real damn good." - Byron Coley