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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01 - Follow
02 - Fragment
03 - Summer Goddess
04 - Ms. BC
05 - Sweat
06 - 手のひら (Tenohira) |
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Review |
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I'll admit, I have an affinity for contemporary jazz. Go on, call it passe watered down muzak, say it's only fit for being unintrusive background noise while choosing between 90% and 95% lean ground beef at the store, but you can't change me. Still, even when I listen, I often think that if it weren't for this melodic flourish or that rhythmic play I could very well be tuning in to elevator music. But, at the other end of the contemporary spectrum are the musicians whose arty pretensions have fallen to the dark side of fat-headed virtuosic gluttony, condemned to walk the earth wanking robotically in imaginary time signatures designated with two prime numbers. So where does Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, one of the newest ensembles in Japan to find a sizeable audience and a major label contract, fit into all this? Nowhere, in fact. Unlike their fairly popular semi-contemporaries PE'Z, these guys skip the aforementioned pitfalls and trace their sound back to the days of bop, before electrified instruments had made much headway in jazz. Of course, that musical path carries its own set of places to trip up. Considering how many decades bop has been around and how many world-class musicans have arisen from the genre, SPS play the small fish in a big pond. What's a fledgling jazz ensemble to do?
Well, true to their flashy (if not bizarrely cryptic) name, SPS plays fast, hard and aggressive while probably hoping that the younger crowds they appeal to aren't carrying around copies of A Love Supreme. SPS has the depth of talent to keep their recordings exciting, but too often the members' soloing gets far out of hand. Trumpet player Tabu Zombie's sharp tones carry an intensity that could easily shred the sonic fabric of any of the songs on this disc, which is exactly what happens on "Fragment." His soloing, which devolves to a level of an obnoxiously noodling high school band geek, almost reaches self-parody by its conclusion midway through the song. The conclusion itself is a thing to behold, with Zombie almost comically fighting with saxophonist Motoharu like a pair of shrill harpies vying for carrion. The remainder of the song flows much better after SPS axes Zombie's improv and later gives Josei on piano the melodic reigns. Solos on the later songs progressively play out better but the members still become hung up at times on exercising their chops rather than making music.
The other weakness inherent on this EP is the ensemble's reluctance to play with much in the way of nuance. Every track roars at a near constant dynamic level, only softening when the piano picks up the spotlight. The solos would have been a good opportunity to vary the intensity but this chance is largely missed. Taking advantage of those situations would have done double duty in putting some feeling back into the more tedious solos and keeping the songs more interesting.
Still, there are worthwhile moments on Summer Goddess. The intro track's busy drumming, pulsing guitar and siren make for an edgy and almost polyrhythmic opening statement. "Fragment" comes on strong with its memorable initial theme, and coupled with the pleasant piano section lead by Josei would have been a winning addition had Zombie not vandalized it with his trumpeted vulgarities. SPS smartly cools off for "Ms. BC," delivering a song similar to "Fragment" but exceeding it on every level. The ensemble heats back up on "Sweat" and finds a fast pace that at once keeps the adrenaline flowing and satisfies the members' itchy fingers without flying off the handle.
Soil & "Pimp" Sessions definitely have the "Pimp" part of their music down, with a bevy of flashy moves to show off. It's the "Soil" that needs to start coming through to keep those lofty amibitions safely tied down until just the right point to shoot them off. Once SPS realize that the right point is not "all the time" they'll have gained the maturity to be a veritable threat on the popular market. |
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