On Risk, the third album from Milwaukee’s Far Corner, the instrumental chamber-rock quartet melds classical music and progressive rock into a deeply intense and oddly accessible listening experience. Risk showcases four of Wisconsin’s most accomplished experimental musicians—keyboardist Dan Maske, bassist William Kopecky, cellist Angela Schmidt and drummer Craig Walkner—at the peak of their performance powers. The album opens with “Unapproachable,” an eerie two-minute tribal soundtrack. Walkner evokes Phil Collins on the fun “Flim Flam Man” and “Laboratory Missteps” plays musical chairs with an offbeat orchestra that’s as charming as it is disturbing. Portions of Risk evoke the anxiety of its title, and Kopecky—whose credits include French industrial black-metal outfit Haiku Funeral—sharpens the music’s dark edges. But despite all of the sonic action, Risk’s standout piece is “SolonEye,” a beautiful husband-and-wife duet. Maske’s joyful, delicate keyboards accompany Schmidt’s mournful cello, as the song crescendos into a chills-inducing finale.
