Valley Tangents

Blues Control is an instrumental duo featuring Russ Waterhouse on guitars and electronics and Lea Cho on keyboards. The resulting music falls between the cracks of different genres; the fact that you can't easily classify Blues Control is part of its appeal. Waterhouse and Cho mix styles with an eclectic touch, claiming influences as varied as Debussy, Carla Bley, Bruce Hornsby, and Vince Guaraldi. Transferred from Queens to the Lehigh Valley, the duo sounds more at home in the more expansive environs. "Love's a Rondo" leads with Cho's piano, which sounds particularly deep and true, while Waterhouse squalls with lead riffs that fill in the sound. "Iron Pigs" plays with more aggression and dissonance, as if to prove that instrumentals can be more than background music. The organ sounds of "Opium Den/Fade to Blue" capture the duo's psychedelic side, feeling like a late-'60s piece until its rumbles turn discordant. The duo's unpredictable approach means there isn't a single track that doesn't offer a few surprises or engaging left turns.