- Apparently, Tibor Lázár is quite well-known in his native Hungary. A drummer for more than 20 years, he's played in several successful bands, scored film and television, topped local charts and been awarded the national equivalent of a Grammy. As satisfying as these chapters in his musical career may have been, they were all collaborative. My Rorschach is his first solo record, released on his very own label. Naturally, it's a highly personal endeavour; one rooted in deeper meanings. The title, for instance, comes from a psychological technique, the Rorschach test. Patients study a series of inkblots and discuss their resulting thoughts, allowing doctors an insight into their personalities. Occam's razor, meanwhile, is the idea that amongst competing theories, the most valid is that which makes the fewest new assumptions. Add the two items together and you've something of a mission statement.
Strictly speaking, My Rorschach isn't a solo album. Manning instruments like the trumpet, bassoon and vibraphone, no less than nine musicians help realise Lázár's compositions. The result is a resoundingly human record, one expressed with an exceptionally tender palette. At times—"Passage" and "White Flag"—it's even reminiscent of Portishead, with Enikő Hodosi sounding like a calmer Beth Gibbons. This humanistic feel is best represented by tracks like "Town of Introspection" or "Diachronity." The former is balanced precariously on Lázár's superb drumming, which regularly builds to tiny overflowing peaks. Both showcase lonely brassery and elegant vibraphone to great effect.
It's not all traditional instrumentation, however. Electronic intervention abounds, appearing principally in the form of dubby effects or muffled drums. The seams between these two halves are frequently difficult to spot. Take "Midnight Taper." Who's to say whether the miniature clockwork noises sprinkled across it are recorded, or merely some synthetic equivalent of tightening springs and spinning cogs? And even when these additions are simply recognised, their origin is easy to forget, like the gurgling undercurrent of "Back to the Egg," which blends in so well as to virtually disappear amongst delicate piano and guitar. This skilful melding is central to the success of My Rorschach, which moves easily from dreaminess ("I Was a Dervish") to jazz cool ("Passage") to weary defeatism ("Anzin.") As an in-depth study of Lázár, it reveals exactly what you'd expect from a musician of his experience: A wealth of emotion, all of it presented with blinding sincerity.
Tracklist 01. Invocation
02. Midnight Taper
03. Passage
04. I Was A Dervish
05. White Flag
06. La Dolce Vita
07. Back To The Egg
08. Town Of Introspection
09. Diachronity
10. Anzix