Diatribes appears to be the duo of Cyril Bondi (drums/percussion) and D’incise (laptop, objects, treatments) and on Piano(s) they are joined by Jacques Demierre and Johann Bourquenez, both on grand pianos.

Digging their heels heavily into the free music sound, this quartet starts off pretty piano heavy and although I know it’s the title of the disc, I don’t feel like I hear enough of D’incise. There is great spotlight and interaction between the two pianos and drums of Bondi. This is the first time in a while I can recall two pianos used on the same recording of free music in a while. The playing is sparse and strong at the same time, without seeming to dip into great vamps or the aggressive Cecil Taylor style that so many ape. There is a lot of continous playing also between the two that seems to melt together nicely.

One complaint is the mix of the album, all five tracks seem to have been recorded in a live setting, which is part of the strength of any free music, but at times the pianos are very hard to hear. And, you know, that’s the title of the album. However, this does seem to be the work of a group and not so much 4 separate artists coming together for a one-off performance. There’s such a crash and burn effect for much of any kind of free music in any kind of setting. By the third track, the group starts to work on the same texture, like big spiders crawling on their respective instruments, crawling, and with some speed, but no intention of playing anything.

This appears to be a limited physical release from Insubordinations, who make most of their releases free for download, so if this review didn’t wet your appetite, that fact just might. 5/10 -- Andrew Murdock Livingston (8 July, 2009)