Today’s video premiere features a live orchestral arrangement of “Bolero,” a track from Oracle Hysterical‘s upcoming album Hecuba, out on the National Sawdust Tracks label on May 11, 2018.
Oracle Hysterical is twin brothers Doug Balliett (double bass, viola da gamba) and Brad Balliett (bassoons), Majel Connery (vocals, keyboards), Elliot Cole (vocals, guitars, keyboards), and Dylan Greene (percussion). All members of the group perform and compose, with each project developed collectively. Hecuba features guest Jason Treuting (Sō Percussion) on drum kit.
Hecuba is the latest in a series of projects in which the group illuminates fragments of great literary works through song. Here’s what the group had to say about “Bolero:”
The title of Bolero is of course a nod to Ravel; this song also fixates on one structure that cycles but evolves. Here Hecuba surveys the aftermath of the Trojan War, asking “What good is freedom when we see children wronged? What good is honor when the ones we love are gone?” Her answer is to recommit to her one remaining child: “I’ll hold my daughter as the ivy holds the oak…”
You can pre-order the album via Bandcamp.
About Oracle Hysterical
Oracle Hysterical is twin brothers Doug Balliett (double bass, viola da gamba) and Brad Balliett (bassoons), Majel Connery (vocals, keyboards), Elliot Cole (vocals, guitars, keyboards), and Dylan Greene (percussion). Part band, part book club, Oracle Hysterical combines eclectic musical influences with literary breadth. All members of the group perform and compose, with each project developed collectively.
Oracle’s works occupy the fluid space between classically-inclined song-cycle and art-rock concept album. The group’s songwriting illuminates fragments of great literary works like a child in a dark forest with a flashlight. Text sources have ranged from Grimms’ Fairy Tales to Greek tragedy, and falsely-attributed Shakespeare, all in collections of songs that distill centuries-old writing through a unique contemporary lens. (full bio)
