Mendoza Hoff Revels - Echolocation

Label: AUM Fidelity, 2023

Personnel - Ava Mendoza: electric guitar; James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone; Devin Hoff: electric bass; Ches Smith: drums.

What an electrifying outing this is! Echolocation features a stellar quartet of impulsive musical adventurers co-led by guitarist Ava Mendoza and bassist Devin Hoff, who share compositional duties and sign four pieces each. Rounding out the group are the acclaimed saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and the multi-faceted drummer Ches Smith. The music - unflagging creative jazz with a post-punk ethos - slashes like a stiletto, demonstrating their fearlessness in experimenting with new concepts and blending genres with forward-looking vision.

“Dyscalculia” boasts overwhelming power at its core, borrowing from heavy metal. Penned by Hoff and inspired by numbers dancing in his head, this piece progresses in five and features probing bass lines with enough rock groove to pique your ears. Lewis’ saxophone rides are authoritative, flanked by ferocious guitar washes and supported by a mesh of fired-up drum attacks.

Two other standouts from Hoff are “Babel-17”, a mercurial prog-rock catharsis with defiant punk attitude and polyrhythmic smarts, and “The Stumble”, an odd-metered experimental blues with a suggestive Afrobeat tapestry woven by Smith. Hoff nurtures the intro and also solos distinctively.

Mendoza’s compositions don’t lag behind. “Echolocation” piques our curiosity with a spaced-out guitar intro before straddling between noise, indie rock and spiritual jazz. There’s a cyclic harmonic sequence over which Lewis’ improv becomes fervent, while Mendoza, more melodic, employs long sustains.

If ‘Interwhining” feels like a danceable funk rock exercise - fans of Red Hot Chili Peppers can enjoy heavier atmospheres on this one - that also swings rebelliously before going wild, then “Diablada”, inspired by a Bolivian carnival folk dance, brings an exotic theme to the table. The group crosses frontiers with amplified saturation, and guitar interjections work as an energetic foil for volcanic saxophone eruptions. All of it runs on top of muscular, exuberant  grooves provided by Hoff and Smith. Yes, it’s heavy listening with thick densities, but I bet you’ll be asking for more. I want more!

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Echolocation ► 04 - Babel-17 ► 06 - Diablada

Dan Pitt Trio - Stages

Label: self released, 2023

Personnel - Dan Pitt: guitar; Alex Fournier: bass; Nick Fraser: drums.

If the Canadian guitarist/composer Dan Pitt has been flying under the radar, now is the time he gets some attention via Stages, a nervy sophomore album made with his working trio, featuring bassist Alex Fournier (Triio) and Nick Fraser (Tony Malaby, Kris Davis). These musicians possess ample resources to make you want explore their sounds, probing powerful rock-influenced settings with plenty of room for improvisation.

Several titles make reference to time. The opener, “Fourteen Days” is a downtempo excursion bookended by interspersed chords and single notes with a nearly classical intonation. In the middle, we have sharp cymbal demarcations, bass lines that turn everything darker in tone, and the melodic eruption of the guitar in an intriguing solo designed with inside/outside allure. “Tape Age” is minimal and lyrical, whereas “Fifteen Minutes” is cooked up in seven with the authority of alternative rock. There’s pressurized rhythmic accentuation too, as well as sharp unisons and muscular drumming. 

“Part Two” springs up with a melancholy bass monologue that matures into an exotic odd-metered Eastern dance textured with fine aesthetic judgment. In turn, “Stages” feels like a cinematic neo-country rock song, which, displaying its propensity for free and experimental sounds, concludes with a wired, edgy guitar solo over a vamping sequence. 

Darker musical pigments cover both “Foreboding” and “Ghosts”, transporting listeners to a somber reverie. Funneling elements of the indie rock and metal genres, the former adds up beat cycles of six and eight, and terminates with distortion. The latter piece, also ending up in a gritty electrified tone, starts off  introspectively with shimmering harmonic reflections and poetic arco bass qualities.

Pitt is an interesting composer whose work we want to keep an eye on. This set, by turns delicate and vigorous, hangs together nicely and cohesively, demonstrating the contemporary art of this trio.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Fourteen Days ► 05 - Fifteen Minutes ► 07 - Stages

Ceramic Dog - Connection

Label: Knockwurst Records, 2023

Personnel - Marc Ribot: guitar, vocals; Shahzad Ismaily: bass; Ches Smith: drums + Guests - Syd Straw: vocals; James Brandon Lewis: tenor sax; Anthony Coleman: keyboards; Greg Lewis: organ; Oscar Noriega: clarinet; Peter Sachon: cello.

The incendiary trio Ceramic Dog - spearheaded by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and activist Marc Ribot and rounded out by bassist Shahzad Ismaily and spectacular drummer Ches Smith - returns with Connection, their best album to date. Exploring wide-ranging rock palettes and giving it some avant-garde jazz color from time to time, the trio displays expertise in coming up with inventive ideas with an often riotous sound that mixes past, present and future.

The title track opens the proceedings with explorative energy. It’s a lo-fi, heavy punk rock piece with a strong chorus that will appeal to fans of Descendants, Ramones and Buzzcocks. The next track, “Subsidiary”, is more experimental and darker in tone, marked by distortion, feedback and voice modulation. With time, it gains a certain metal-inspired rhythm that bites and ingrains - I’m imagining Paradise Lost without the massive, growling vocals.

“Soldiers in the Army of Love” is garage punk with a chorus that rekindles the best of ‘80s, whereas “Ecstasy”, compellingly sung by Syd Straw with magnificent lyrics by Ribot, takes us on a trippy euphoric voyage where also inhabit Zappa, The Doors, The Fall and The B52’s. Anthony Coleman guests here, playing Farfisa organ, and the last section evokes Santana’s psychedelic ‘70s phase.

Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis shines on “Swan”, which, in a way, is reflectively modal and spiritually uplifting, ending with excellent guitar work by Ribot. The saxophonist is also heard on a brief jazz passage of “Heart Attack”, a revolving, anarchist noise-rock smash with lots of swearing.

Variation in the aesthetics is a favorable point, and if “No Name”, an instrumental that straddles between Iggy Pop’s Stooges and The Velvet Underground, mixes jarred melodies with surprising beats with orchestral strings, then “Order of Protection” takes us to Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”. After a noise-rock rendition of Schwartz/Dietz’s “That’s Entertainment” (not the pop hit by Paul Weller’s The Jam), delivered here with playful keyboard playing, there’s a mix of fanfare and afrobeat to be savored on the closer “Crumbia”, which features clarinetist Oscar Noriega.

Hallucinated yet illuminated, there’s guts and progressive activism in a revolutionary new recording that’s definitely worth digging into.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Subsidiary ► 04 - Ecstasy ► 05 - Swan

Erik Friedlander - She Sees

Label: Skipstone Records, 2023

Personnel - Erik Friedlander: cello; Ava Mendoza: electric guitar; Stomu Takeishi: electric bass; Diego Espinosa: percussion.

She Sees, the second studio album by American cellist Erik Friedlander’s Sentinel - originally a trio and now a quartet - clearly leans on muscular rock while moving in mysterious ways. Driven by genre-fusing ardor, the group welcomes Japanese bassist Stomu Takeishi - he collaborated with Friedlander on fantastic albums such as Topaz (1999), Quake (2003), Prowl (2006) and Ring (2016) - who joins the core trio completed by Brooklyn-based avant guitarist Ava Mendoza and Mexican percussionist Diego Espinosa.

“Baskets, Biscuits, Rain” follows a typical anthemic rock song format but suggests a propulsive swinging feel through the dynamic bass. The quartet gets lean on “Wit & Whimsy”, which sounds like classic arena-rock, and sinewy on “Heatwave”, a fusion piece with excellent command of tempo and tone, and enlivened by an inner/outer travelogue delivered by Friedlander. The cellist, who recently underwent Deep Brain Stimulation to fight Parkinson’s disease, appears here as fit as a flea. 

“Tremor, Blink” is funk-rock rapture. Cello and guitar are seen partially in tandem to create a sort of contrapuntal effect, whereas “Sliding” focuses on a gutbucket jazz n’ bluesy style redolent of Tom Waits. In turn, “Summit” explores the pop genre with cello pizzicato and a reverb-drenched guitar solo with distorted contrails. Mendoza is also impressive on “Ache, Air”, championing a jangling funky rhythm contraction with punk-rock attitude. 

If the engrossing “Rush. Rush Slowly” is treated with ethnic intrusions and Eastern tangents, then “Soak! Soak!” and the closer, “Moneycake: Corrupting”, are pinned with stylish riffs. The former develops with a three-time feel, while the latter gets under way in seven, changing meter signatures en route. 

Adding warped sounds to its rock-steeped temperament, this new Sentinel disc falls well behind the group’s debut album (2020), but deserves some support for its bold sounds and explorative intrepidity.

Favorite Tracks:
06 - Ache, Air ► 07 - Sliding ► 10 - Moneycake: Corrupting

Nick Roesler - Ghosting a Funeral

Label: Self released, 2023

Personnel - Nick Roesler: guitar, piano, synth, electronics; Dave King: drums.

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Nick Roesler (Chicane Theory, Porcupine) from Minneapolis releases Ghosting a Funeral, an atmospheric duo album woven alongside excellent drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus, Broken Shadows, Happy Apple). They attempt to push boundaries in the dark ambient rock experimentation, passing sensations of obscurity and lonesomeness as the final result.

Opening the album, “Night Sweats” explores within the indie rock canon, contrasting atmospheric guitar and synth effects with some unexpected beats for syncopation. The chiaroscuro tonalities are seamlessly transferred to “Hall Light”, which, following in the same vein, becomes another sinister pleasure.

“Polyurethane” probes trippy sonorities, juggling odd rhythmic textures, low-pitched vibes and electronics to emulate a psychedelic electro-rock. “Elephant in the Room” boasts a stimulating motorik beat that stands out from the sustained droning carpet mounted underneath. Under two minutes long, this is the shortest piece on the album but its grittiness made me wish it were further extended and developed. King’s terrific drumming is put to good effect on “Suspended Bridge”, a pathos-driven mystery tale in which Roersler’s smoldering baritone guitar carries much of the weight. Here, the duo reaches a climax in their association. 

If the title track, swept by ambient synth and guitar washes, attains an enigmatic suspension, then “Midlife Bison” enhances a five-note guitar motif by placing it on top of the layered texture. This is backed by King’s operations on the kit, including rattling percussion, thudding bass drum kicks, dry snare timbres, and opportune cymbal soaks.

Ghosting a Funeral relies on the power of mood, mixing stylistically different elements that shimmer up and drone and hum along with rhythm throbs. It will certainly create more impact on indie rock fans than jazz enthusiasts.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Night Sweats ► 04 - Midlife Bison ► 09 - Suspended Bridge

Vaux Taux - Watch You Walk

Label: Self-released

Personnel - Benjamin Karp: guitar; Chris Coyle: bass; Matt Scarano: drums.

vaux-taut-watch-you-walk.jpg

Bassist Chris Coyle leads the Philadelphia-based trio Vaux Taux, for which he is the main composer and arranger. The other members of this jazz-meets-indie-rock clan - guitarist Benjamin Karp and drummer Matt Scarano - joined him throughout the fluid proceedings that make their debut record, Watch You Walk, something not to be overlooked.

The strong musicianship shared by the threesome comes with a crossover appeal, and that’s immediately noticeable on the opener, “Tender”, an odd-metered ride boasting arresting rhythms and harmonic comfort. The fantastic energy and drive, which is positively affected by a slower passage, feels appropriate to the experimental trait of the guitarist, whose language melds the blaze of indie rock and the attractive colors of jazz. 

The title track takes the pop/rock and jazz influences into breezy territories, but ends up in muscular circularity. Working in tandem with the guitar for a slightly psychedelic effect during the theme, the bass then finds some residual funk in a path that also crosses a dreamy section right before reaching the finale. Also with a sticky funky feel, the rhythmically worked out “21 Skidoo” has an infectious danceability linked to the visceral immediacy of the fusion genre. Besides the Alan Holdsworth-like vibe, there’s this fine melodic fingerpicking embellishing its middle passage.

Combining craft and spontaneity, the dulcet guitar intro of “Skymall” arrives with a good amount of restraint. It’s easy to identify gorgeous melodies, organized interplay, a melody-driven bass solo and some unexpected organ effects spotted by the end.

“You’ve Been Here Before” overtly draws from the alternative rock and indie pop canons, being shortened by a steep fade out. In contrast, “Vaux Taux” gets closer to folk rock in an early instance, later becoming a showcase for Karp’s hybrid language poured out over the steady rhythmic underpinning provided by Coyle and Sarcano.

With each member selflessly dedicated to creating organic music, this is the favorable outcome of their efforts as a group.

Grade B+

Grade B+

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Tender ► 04 - 21 Skidoo ► 05 - Skymall