January/February 2007

Craig Mciver
A Horse of a Different Rhythm
Dreambox Media

By Forrest Dylan Bryant

Craig McIver’s debut recording opens with a four-and-a-half-minute drum solo, a one-man tribal assault that sets the stage for an idiosyncratic album of twisting, polyrhythmic original compositions. The sound is unpolished but electrifying, as McIver—drum kit augmented with tympani, electronic strings and marimba—challenges his adventurous crew of Philadelphian musicians to keep up. The concluding “Metronomic Suite” offers a different approach: It’s more relaxed and melodic, but disarmingly off-kilter.