Um, this is fourteen new compositions played by Ryan Scott on a snare drum (with occasional accompaniment). That's it. This is not a complicated album.

Ryan Scott 21st Century Canadian Snare Drum (Collection CB)

Gotcha! Scott utilizes a wide variety of techniques and plays parts of the drum in unusual ways. These pieces sound less like percussion overload than adventures in sound, period. In other words, if you think you know snare, you really don't.

Having known a number of percussionists over the years (including folks who play in symphonies, etc.), I can attest that every single one of them has dreamed of a project like this. Most have screwed around with their equipment in many (if not all) of the ways Scott does here. But to take those random experiments and use those sounds to play real compositions? That's kinda mindblowing.

Oh yes, this is one of those "music critics just like weird shit" albums. Of course. But peel back that layer, and this is also a set of modern compositions that not only push the performative power of the percussionist but also succeed as powerful pieces of music as well. Sometimes when the weird get going, greatness happens. Wild, inventive and a true blast to contemplate.

Jon Worley