Label: International Anthem, 2022
Personnel - Jaimie Branch: trumpet, electronics, percussion, vocals; Jason Nazary: drums, synth + Jeff Parker: guitar, bass guitar, percussion, synth; Chad Taylor: mbira (#2)
Anteloper is a modern duo of intense improvisers whose versatility and layering capabilities make them sound bigger than a simple duo. The co-leaders, razor-sharped trumpeter Jaimie Branch (Fly or Die) and exciting drummer Jason Nazary (Darius Jones Trio), invited guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise) to play in and produce this five-track electro-hop-jazz meets punk-rock album. Pink Dolphins, their third release, is the follow-up to Kudo (2018) and Tour Beats Vol.1 (2020).
“Inia” starts the proceedings by carving out a pinpoint grid of caustic electronics, synth, and snappy drums for a trippy experience. At its crest, we spot Branch’s trumpet lines, which may take the form of coiled freakazoid wires or simply composed observations. With a similar posture, “Baby Bota Halloceanation” alludes to the Wadada Leo Smith type of vibrations but with an abreast rhythmic design that creates shuffling momentum.
Special guest and respected drummer Chad Taylor plays mbira on “Delfin Rosado”, a more tangible piece with an-easy-to-follow melody and an adroit pulse. The approach is, nevertheless, disarming, as they mitigate the chasm between indie rock, electronica, and avant-jazz. These guys do this better than many other outfits around. Like the track I’ve just described, “Earthlings” has the finger of Parker, being very much jazzified by his electric sound. Still, Branch is the one who steals the show with her singing. There’s this irresistible swirling of the drums stitching the texture, a blurry emotional chorus that sounds awesome, and that settlement between the boisterous and the mellow makes it the elected alternative rock tune of the summer.
Clocking in at nearly 15 minutes, “One Living Genus” is the new-psychedelia effort that concludes the album. It comes packed with synth washes and a regular 4/4 rhythm in its early stage; then it bubbles more than crunches with successive doses of flamboyance before prolonging for seven minutes the static atmospheric restraint with which it ends.
This is provocative music for curious ears. Definitely fresh numbers with singular moods and in-context progressive modernity.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Delfin Rosado ► 03 - Earthlings