Random Notes - November 2023
Quick looks at albums by John Zorn, Peter Barclay, the Mountain Goats, and more
John Zorn - Full Fathom Five (Tzadik, 2023)
A while back, I looked at the first record by John Zorn’s Incerto quartet. They’re back with an another record: Full Fathom Five. It’s again the same idea: Zorn themes as interpreted by a guitar/piano/bass/drum quartet. And it’s basically more of the same as on their debut record. This is both a plus and a minus.
Take “I Cried to Dream Again.” It’s a slow piece that opens up for pianist Brian Marsalla to stretch out for a reflective solo, while the band holds it steady behind him. Drummer Ches Smith uses brushes and guitarist Julian Lage plays gentle lines. Occasionally there’s a little ripple, but generally this is pretty laid back, late-night stuff. Things do pick up elsewhere on the record: there’s a nice, almost circular phrase on “Phantasma” that perked my ears up when the while band leaned into it.
In more than a few ways, Full Fathom Five a very traditional-sounding record with a few characteristic flourishes here and there. The music is nice, the band is tight, but largely the overall effect is one that doesn’t exactly stand out in Zorn’s large back catalogue. It’s not a bad record but since it plays things pretty straight it’s certainly not as exciting as the Masada records, old or new. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Peter Barclay - I’m Not Your Toy (Numero Group, 2023)
Leave it to the folks at Numero Group to stitch together a gem like this. Barclay was a musician who lived in Oakland a few decades ago. A self-taught musician, he quietly put out a couple of records and faded from memory for over close to three decades.
I’m Not Your Toy is full of smooth, quiet storm grooves that just scream early 90s. The keyboards have that spacey, light sound one associates with New Age music or the kind of light R&B you’d hear over a K-Mart PA. No shade - when it’s done right, this sound can break down walls. And by keeping things simple and moving, Barclay showed he had a nice touch. The keyboards are layered on top of each other and on top of that is Barclay himself.
Barclay had a smooth, reedy voice: at times he sounds like Prince, especially on the slower tracks. He can sound like a choir, but he can sound as fragile as an eggshell. For a voice that doesn’t seem to me to have had a lot of range, it’s used well. There’s a slight political and queer edge to this: it opens with “acceptance is the key / acceptance of who you are,” a plea for self-acceptance and it ends with him reaching for the stars: “I have a dream / One day we will be free.”
Throughout I’m Not Your Toy, the music is engaging and slides in nicely among other Numero records by Pastor T.L. Barrett, Jackie Shane, and the V4 Visions set. Not bad, especially considering his humble origins. Barclay passed away in the 90s; I’m glad he left us this music to remember him by.
The Mountain Goats - Jenny From Thebes (Merge, 2023)
I’ll admit it: I am not especially familar with the whole Mountain Goats thing. I wrote up one of their records a long time ago, but mostly my familiarity with them came from a guy I knew who thought John Darnelle was the greatest writer on Earth. It was a pretty hard sell.
But recently I’ve found myself immersed in their two newest records: Jenny From Thebes and Dark In Here. And they’ve won me over.
With one hand in 70s grooves and instrumentation - lots of horns, what sounds like an old keyboard, etc - John Darnelle’s latest is an engaging listen that feels akin to classic rock with feeling either in debt to or anchored by its cliches. It opens with a keyboard flourish that’d make Bruce Springsteen proud and the driving rhythm of “Clean Slate” almost hides a lush, hooky chorus. It slowly builds into a wall of sound and it’s hard not to picture Darnelle at the piano with an orchestra slowly emerging from the darkness around him. “This will be the last time I do this, I’m pretty sure,” he sings. Don’t hold him to that.
The album is full of light touches and pop hooks: the way the vocals harmonize on “Only One Way,” the quiet rumbling guitar riff on “Cleaning Crew,” the big piano chords on “Same As Cash.” It’s an album that paints in bright swathes of colour - reminds me a little of Elvis Costello’s Imperial Bedroom, but without the underlying cynicism or sneer.
I’m told Jenny From Thebes is a sequel to another record, one I haven’t listened to. I can’t weigh in on that specifically, but I think it’s a good singer/songwriter record, one that I’ll be returning to enough to take a deeper look at his lyrics.
Billy Mohler - Ultraviolet (Contagious Music, 2023)
I have a soft spot for bassist-lead groups and it’s not just because my dad plays the instrument. As the person who’s usually playing the root notes of the chords and holding down the melody while the group improvises, it’s not a glamorous spot. But it’s always nice to hear a record where they get to show off.
Ultraviolet is a nice slice of contemporary jazz, one that has the bass mixed way out in front. After some introductory fanfare, the kicks into gear with the title track and the horn section of Chris Speed (tenor sax and clarinet) and Shane Endlsey (trumpet) twisting around each other. The way they blast off reminds me of the sort of stuff Tony Williams was putting out in the late 80s - I’m thinking “Mutants on the Beach” in particular, although this group doesn’t have a pianist to hold things together - that’s left up to Billy Mahler.
He does a nice job, especially when the two leads play in unison, as they do on “Disorder II.” His bass is constantly in motion, not just sticking to a note or two, and along with drummer Nate Wood, it keeps things moving and from getting stale.
There’s only a handful of moments where the band gets to stretch out: “The Wait,” the title track, “Reconstruction.” Here the band gets to shine and show off some nice interplay. But in between these are shorter pieces that sometimes feel like sketches: “Sorrow” has the horns playing as if lying on each other, while the two “Disorder” tracks feel like mood pieces from a noir film.
It’s this juxtaposition that keeps this one from getting to the next level - too often Ultraviolet seems to be going to mood and vibes when all I really want to hear is this quartet going at full speed.
Spanned Canyons - Spanned Canyons (Bandcamp, 2023)
Toronto musicians and friends of the blog Spanned Canyons released their self titled record earlier this year and it’s an interesting experience.
Spanned Canyons is full of harsh industrial landscapes, skronking saxophones, and loads of effects. At times, it makes me think of side two of “Heroes” as interpreted by Throbbing Gristle. At others, I’m reminded of Krautrock records like Musik von Harmonia. Which is pretty cool, if not everybody’s idea of a good time.
On “Deepfreeze Station” the music hums like a transistor radio jammed between stations while on “Snowload Station” a horn weaves it way out of a haze of static and ambient noise. Things are never too upbeat here. Instead the music feels like a soundtrack. But when the album closes on “deepfreeze terminus” it does so with distorted drums, harsh keyboards, and a nice little groove. As noted, it’s not for everyone, but a certain kind of listener will dig it.