Daily Download: "4," Alarm Will Sound

Alarm Will Sound is a young, Bang On A Can-style classical music ensemble devoted to the perhaps admirable but desperately pitfall-ridden task of making classical music "hip" and youthful, a process which apparently entails various questionable crossover exercises like their most recent recording, "Acoustica," featuring 15 arrangements of Aphex Twin tracks performed by hand, acoustically. It's all impressively executed -- particularly the work of the drummers, recreating some of Aphex Twin's devilishly complicated beats -- but it's really just a stunt, a point that's driven home by the inclusion on the back of the jewel case of a blurb informing us that "All sounds and effects on this recording were produced acoustically." Classical music might need some rejuvenation, but this is not the way.