Listening to a few things that have come out of that big fancy London recently and looking at the recording dates I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a virtual Aladdin’s cave of music dying to see the light of day. This one was recorded in the olden days (November 2019) and has languished somewhere until it came out in May this year. It’s such a bold, sweeping work that I had trouble believing that it was such a small group performing, (ten rather than a bigger big band).
Long has marshalled his
troops very effectively to create an album that owes something to the electric
Miles, something to prog-rock and some things to something else. There are
shifting layers that allow for the sudden appearance of a solo, there are
swathes of mood music that build up the tension whilst also shifting the ground
under your feet and there are moments when a heavy bass, (in one instance, hinting
at a Cream riff), provides the foundation for constant movement around it in a
blizzard of psychedelic rolls and tumbles. There are delicate, pastoral
yearnings for new shoots in spring and there are post-apocalyptic, electric,
explorations suggesting roots from In A
Silent Way or Jack Johnson; add
in a bit of echoing dub and you have a brave broad spectrum work.
I like this album a lot,
it’s a grower; one that I took to when I first heard it and like it more each
time, probably because each playing reveals something new. It’ll very likely feature
in my end of year top ten and it has set me to wondering what else Jake has in
his cupboard!
City Swamp is available from most of the usual outlets online including HERE on the Bandcamp page where it can be bought for a very reasonable £8 plus postage. Dave Sayer
No comments :
Post a Comment