Alarm Will Sound recently made its Nonesuch debut with the September release of a/rhythmia. This month, the 20-member ensemble is marking the occasion with an album release party and listening event at New York City's (Le) Poisson Rouge on October 18. The event is free and open to the public. The Onion's A.V. Club, in its event listing, describes the group as "a chamber orchestra that doesn’t do what most chamber orchestras do," namely "performing heralded but seldom-performed bits of experimental music from a wide range of styles" and making "significant splashes" in the process. For more information on the event, visit lepoissonrouge.com.

San Francisco Classical Voice describes a/rhythmia as "wild, unpredictable, and filled with life and color ... tons of fun." Says reviewer Jason Victor Serinus: "Within three or four measures, the riot is in full swing." As he describes it,

It’s as though Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti embrace under acid rain madness, while Frank Zappa and Bruce Springstein come sloshing through in quick-step fashion. You may not know just what’s happening here, but you sure as hell want to dive in to find out.

The album features an eclectic "joy ride" of a repertoire, spanning the centuries, with works by Ligeti and Mochipet "right at home" with pieces that pre-date the 16th century, all tied together by "five fabulous, fantastically titled 90-second excerpts from Animals and the Origins of Dance" by Benedict Mason.

"This is totally engaging stuff," Serinus says, then recommends: "Turn off the car alarm, then crank up the volume. On a scale of 1 to 10, this stuff is off the charts."

Read the complete album review at sfcv.org.