Label: Temperphantom, 2026
Personnel - Victor Vieira-Branco: vibraphone; Sam Yulsman: piano; John Moran: double bass; Joey Sullivan: drums.
Playing the vibraphone with a relentless sense of urgency and intent while displaying a strong, distinctive compositional identity, Victor Vieira-Branco is a name to reckon with in contemporary jazz. Rooted in Philadelphia, Bark Culture is Vieira-Branco’s creative brainchild, where intriguing sonic forces feel at once dark and lyrical, sometimes effusive yet always fresh and compelling. For this date, the core trio—with John Moran on double bass and Joey Sullivan on drums—is expanded into a harmonically richer quartet with the addition of pianist Sam Yulsman.
The Giant is Awkward, Bark Culture’s sophomore record, opens with “Palace”, whose lush theme, rhythmically vivid drive, and hip arrangement command our attention from the very first minute. The bandleader’s rolling liquidity blends seamlessly with sweeping keyboard gestures and the vibrant tangle woven by bass and drums. Sullivan does an intricate, actively propulsive job throughout, fueled by alternative-rock stamina and responsive fills. Yulsman’s “Farce”, the only piece not written by Vieira-Branco, is kinetic, asymmetric, and daring in its construction, pervaded by a thrilling sense of uncertainty and a fair dose of arcane postmodern psychedelia.
“Willow” holds a powerful and consistently engaging backbone that is unafraid of odd meters and metric modulation. Impeccably framed by Yulsman’s off-kilter piano (which sounds great despite being slightly out of tune) and Vieira-Branco’s hallucinogenic vibraphone, the piece climaxes into an unpredictable, stratospheric concentration of sound. On a different register, “Panic” gives silence an important role, developing with a balladic feel that favors spacious atmospheres.
The album closes with “Spectrum”, where the beauty of the instrumentation creates ebbs and flows through intricate accentuation that feels simultaneously startling and exhilarating. There’s space for drum talk before the tension mounts through authoritative bowed bass, nebulous vibraphone streams, dreamy piano sequences, and jittery drumming.
With each member focused on injecting energy and emotion, Bark Culture pushes the envelope, reinventing itself as an experimental group that strikes a perfect balance between written material and open improvisation. Vieira-Branco steps forward impressively on The Giant Is Awkward, and it’s remarkable to think these pieces were recorded at the last minute while still in sketch form.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Palace ► 02 - Farce ► 03 - Willow