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LP
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EGLP 001LP
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LA's Elbow Grease label takes a sharp left turn from dance floor-finessing singles to their first full-length release via the elusive yet illustrious band KAMM, who return in extra fine form for their third and presumably final album offering, following the sudden tragic death of core member Alland Byallo. Surviving bandmates Marc Barrite aka Dave Aju, Kenneth Scott, and Marc Smith chose the inspirational higher ground, finishing off what they had begun with Byallo prior to his passing, resulting in this sublime musical love letter of an LP. In keeping with the band's broad influence canon, listeners are treated to a blend of sonic flavors from across the genre spectrum with Barrite and Byallo's jazz upbringings ringing true at the center, then branching out through golden era hip-hop feels, phased-out psych funk, warm smokey soul, and of course generous helpings of intricate electronic layers and innovative treatments, as all band members have become notorious for in their respective solo bodies of work. While highly personal by nature, including otherworldly cover art based on Byallo's last paintings, the musical content contained on the album is also widely universal -- from opener "Crystalline Dreams" serpentine tones turned slo-mo funk bomb, to the triptych Bossa boom-bap of "No Deal", the timely political calls of uptempo jazz burner "Your Honor", the intimate upright-led tribute tales of "Angels Flight", to the sleek electro rhythm changes of mid-set breather "How Long?", a deeply felt take on peoples' mobile-reliant fate in "S.I.M.", the expansively expressive depth of "Coordinates", then closing it out with the title track featuring a grand finale chorus of Byallo's best friends and fam from around the world joining in the "Let The Light In" chant, with as much uplifting intention as possible to capture on record. A loving collective embrace and very welcome reminder to help lighten these darker days.
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LP
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CCS 115LP
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Following their debut album Kick Drunk Love (2016) for Marcel Vogel's Intimate Friends imprint, Circus Company present the next installment in the sporadic KAMM legacy: Cookie Policies. Far more sonically rich and musically adventurous than its predecessor, Cookie Policies sees the band make bold strides into new territories where classically hardwired categories such as jazz, indie rock, and electronica melt into one another with immaculate, timeless ease. The band members' positions are more clear cut as well this round, with Marc David Barrite (aka Dave Aju) on prominent lead vocals in many of the pieces, Alland Byallo on trumpet, Kenneth Scott on synth bass, and Marc Smith adding guitar sections while the others shared the arranging and programming duties. This makes for a deeper continuation of the otherworldly combination of their known individual production styles, as well as a musical whole truly greater than the sum of its parts. The set starts off with "Bird Call", whose opening ode to Morricone ok corral-meets-samurai showdown riffs flow into a loose and drifting psychedelic boom bap blip, building until a glorious change-up of key and energy brings the track to its peak and deconstructed back down. "Rachel, the Largest Bullfrog" then takes things in a sweeter, slightly more traditionally-structured direction where dusty indie-folk ballad vibes intersect with an array of twisted cosmic tones, bits of computer keyboard percussion, and deep rolling sub bass. "Buckle Down" then moves things back away from acoustic restraints into a beautiful synth-laden musing on potential regret, with an ultra-potent horn section from Byallo vs a nasty stacked Roland SH-101 finish. "CCBPGC" cools things off for a few minutes with an ambient field recording slice-and-dice motif, which slowly but surely evolves into a slinking jazz noir groove from another dimension. The more traditional song structures return on the lovely "La Luna", where Barrite's pen and soulful voice take to nautical longing themes over apropos waves of sonic textures. The ebb and flow of the verse/chorus sections eventually rise and give way to an absolutely gorgeous denouement. "Shleem" then takes us into pure unadulterated soaring sci-fi soundtrack ambient blast-off bliss, while the epic closing track "The Soft Glow of Electric Sex" gives a hearty nod to early masters of sprawling psychedelic jam sessions, from Pink Floyd and Can to In A Silent Way-era Miles and Liquid Liquid, while bringing it clearly into futurist millennia.
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