Label: Sunnyside Records, 2024
Personnel - Ben Monder: electric guitar; Santiago Leibson: keyboards; Matt Pavolka: upright bass; Allan Mednard: drums.
Sturdy bassist Matt Pavolka plays in different settings with the same focus and reliability. At the helm of his flagship band, he explores adventurous sonic terrain with the help of guitarist Ben Monder, Argentinian keyboardist Santiago Leibson, and drummer Allan Mednard. The latter two, replacing former members Pete Rende and Ted Poor respectively, infuse new energy across nine originals that showcase Pavolka’s compositional prowess and appetite for brawny rock music.
The first track, “An Aged Flamingo in a Dried-up Pool”, begins quietly with cymbal glowing and droning rumination, before marking a steady pace via the regularity of the bass, over which atmospheric smears of guitar and keys are layered. Monder brings his rock game and energy to the fore before the group returns to the spaciousness where everything started.
A straightforward bass groove sets the foundation of “And Then We Towed new Zealand Out to Sea”, an enlivening blues featuring groovy soloing from Leibson and Monder. “Lighter-Complected Invaders From the North” is a spaced-out number with rippling keyboard currents, rock-tinged rhythmic fluxes, and glitchy electronic textures. The piece aims at Brooklyn gentrification.
No wonder “Ricin Beans” had its title culled from the crime drama television series Breaking Bad, because it would give a phenomenal rock soundtrack for a space-adventure comics-based movie. “Defeating the Purpoise” flows in seven, with Pavolka and Mednard ensuring everything is locked in on every front. Contrasting with the remaining pieces is the lush ballad “The Word For Moonlight is Moonlight”, which quiets down the proceedings and invites to meditation through ear-pleasing phrases that are also used to elevate Pavolka’s haunting solo.
The title cut, “Disciplinary Architecture”, introduces an 14-beat cycle bass underpinning, showing progressive vision and textural quality. The groove is maintained but decelerates under the muscular workout of Monder, a powerhouse guitarist versatile in both jazz and rock chops. “Vile, in the Sunshine Crawling” closes out the album on a punchy rock note, ending with dark, enigmatic tones magnified by Mednard’s restless cymbal and tom-tom patterns. This session marks another important chapter in Pavolka’s career.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - An Aged Flamingo in a Dried-up Pool ► 06 - Defeating the Purpoise ► 07 - The Word For Moonlight is Moonlight ► 08 - Disciplinary Architecture