Even after reviewing music for more than twenty years, I am still pleased when I am contacted by a band I have never heard of and am asked if I would mind reviewing their album. So after hearing from bassist Jim Haney, I went off to Bandcamp where I had a couple of surprises. The first is that there is only one song on the album, but it is 38 minutes long to be fair, and that it is also possible to buy this on cassette! I mean, when was the last time you bought anything on tape! Perhaps are a Boston trio of Jim, guitarist Sean McDermott and drummer Don Taylor, and this was recorded live in the studio with assorted guest musicians who come and go during the piece, providing sax, trumpet, cello, viola and violins.
The one word that really sums this up is “intense” as in many ways it is quite draining and almost too much to take in one go. I know that this is a mixture of composition and improvisation but there are some obvious break points and personally I would have preferred if this had been cut into smaller chunks. But as it hasn’t, it’s a case of dive in and keep going right to the end. I am not surprised that this album has been reviewed so much, and also am not surprised that every reviewer seems to pick on a different element (although Yes and Krautrock are fairly consistent themes). These guys mix Art Zoyd with Protest The Hero, Miles Davis with Steve Vai; it really is all over the shop as it brings together free form jazz with mathrock and progressive to create something that is both intriguing and quite hard to listen to at times.
All of the guys are brilliant musicians, and they obviously have a deep understanding of each other and they can lock in tightly when they need to, providing great complex runs and hooks, while there are other times when they all go off on tangents and one wonders if they are even in the same room. There is a false finish to the album at about 28 minutes, and I did wonder if we were going to be ‘treated’ to the longest outro of all time, but they break free of constraints and the climax is superb. This is something that can only be appreciated by those who want their music not only to break down boundaries, but to stamp all over them and bury them under a morass of minor chords so that they never darken their ears again. To get this, visit perhaps.bandcamp.com.
