It’s been nearly 20 years since Anthony Garone released his debut album Within back in 2007. Since then, he has founded Make Weird Music, an online publication and platform dedicated to avant‑garde, progressive, and experimental music that pushes far beyond the stratosphere. For 12 years, he has interviewed an impressive roster of artists, including members of Gentle Giant, Barry Cleveland, The Residents’ Homer Flynn, Robert Rich, Markus Reuter, Tony Levin, and David Torn, to name a few.
Anthony has shown no sign of slowing down when it comes to interviewing musicians and exploring the music that piques his interests. Let’s not forget his 2021 book chronicling his attempt to master King Crimson’s ‘Fracture’ from their 1974 album Starless and Bible Black, titled Failure to Fracture: Learning King Crimson’s Impossible Song. The book blends the challenge itself with music theory, autobiography, personal struggles, and his experience attending one of Robert Fripp’s masterclasses—each element contributing to the tightrope‑walk momentum required to tackle Crimson’s complex masterpiece.
His new album OK, But Why? reveals a singular yet daring tightrope structure that Garone continues to walk, as if traversing more dangerous lines across the Grand Canyon. Released on the MoonJune label, this follow‑up to Within blends insane time changes, medieval textures, nods to Gentle Giant, classical orientations reminiscent of Bach, and contributions from a who’s‑who of collaborators: Morgan Ågren, Steve Ball, Michael Manring, Gretchen Menn, and Grace Guthrie, among others. They clearly understood the challenge Garone set before them when stepping into OK, But Why?
Listen to the closing section of ‘Pune’, Anthony, Morgan, and Mike unleash thunderous funk, descending a spiral staircase with results that recall Frank Zappa’s Over‑Nite Sensation era. This leads into the clavinet‑driven Minnear‑esque sound that Strand brings to ‘Concerto for Violin and Oboe, Movement 1’, evoking the golden‑era progressive rock of Gentle Giant.
One of the album’s most complex pieces, ‘Harnch,’ finds Garone channeling both Michael Hedges and Gary Green as he races up and down the fretboard, embarking on a massive voyage into unknown worlds with mind‑blowing results. He then sets a looping, metallic powder keg ready to explode in ‘Deathtrap’ and the ascending ‘Dance Master’, each threatening to ignite at any moment.
Garone and Owen Dueck take listeners on a roller‑coaster ride in the third track, delivering a big‑dipper upheaval. Speaking of blistering metal, ‘Crush’ finds Garone envisioning the Bay Area thrash scene—with a twist of Lemon—surging through tidal‑wave momentum. The track carries echoes of Steve Vai’s textures and the dark, cavernous arpeggiated arrangements of King Crimson’s Red period.
Garone isn’t backing down without a fight. OK, But Why? is here to stay, adding new conversations, new wonders, and new exotic perspectives. And thankfully, it keeps you guessing until the very end.
