High Pulp – Days In The Desert
Seattle based instrumental jazz-collective High Pulp, having followed up 2018 debut Bad Juice with the well-received Pursuit Of Ends in 2022, now offer up Days in the Desert.
Featuring Antoine Martel and Rob Homan on keys, bassist Scott Rixon, tenor saxophonist Victory Ngyuen (a Pharoah Sanders acolyte), alto saxophonist Andrew Morrill and drummer Bobby Granfelt (whose hip-hop and bebop-inspired drum work laid the initial foundation for the entire project), Days In The Desert also features a selection of guest players that further develop the High Pulp sound.
Nor does it hurt that the band know their musical chops while favouring the immediacy of a great indie-rock song.
Opener 'Slaw' is an unusual amalgam of wonky electronica with a bebop horn section underpinned with a sparse guitar part and wandering bass line (there’s no discernible melody part apart from a repeated horn figure).
Some mellifluous saxophone towards the end of the number increases the 'woozy' feel of a piece that sits in Zappa territory and, therefore, possibly best enjoyed with a jazz cigarette.
'Dirtmouth' is slightly more immediate with a repeating bass part allied with a trip-hoppy drum part.
Two guitar parts trade rhythm parts while the saxes take over melodic duties and some improvised solos, the fiery highlight of which is provided by guest player, the acclaimed saxophonist James Brandon Lewis.
'Solanin,' featuring Brandee Younger on harp, opens with some acid-jazz electronica that makes full use of stereo imaging. A repeating melody contributed by alto sax player Andrew Morrill then follows before the tempo drops and Younger’s harp is subjected to delay and modulation effects, adding to the 'other worldly' feel of the number.
'Never In My Short Sweet Life' continues in a similar vein with what sounds like a mellotron being used as a pad, which adds to the slightly unsettling feel (bassist Scott Rixon locks in well with Bobby Granfelt here, despite the fact that the drum parts are certainly less than traditional).
The number then drops in intensity, featuring more effected harp and a grand piano in the outro.
'Robert Pollard,' a short, avant-garde jazz piece devoid of rhythm parts, acts as the mid-album interlude (the number is also, presumably, a tribute to the American singer and songwriter who is the leader of indie rock group Guided by Voices).
'Unified Dakotas,' which features guest Jeff Parker on guitar, is about as mainstream as High Pulp get (hence its choice as a single).
A mix of post-rock guitars, head-nodding drums, bright horns and electronics (with a whiff of ambient music meeting jazz funk), the totality is something that could comfortably sit in a Herbie Hancock album or time travel back to an experimental Miles Davis, as Bobby Granfelt hinted at in pre-release ("If you listen to the trumpet writing you can hear explicit choices and tones inspired by 'Sketches of Spain').
Featuring Antoine Martel and Rob Homan on keys, bassist Scott Rixon, tenor saxophonist Victory Ngyuen (a Pharoah Sanders acolyte), alto saxophonist Andrew Morrill and drummer Bobby Granfelt (whose hip-hop and bebop-inspired drum work laid the initial foundation for the entire project), Days In The Desert also features a selection of guest players that further develop the High Pulp sound.
Nor does it hurt that the band know their musical chops while favouring the immediacy of a great indie-rock song.
Opener 'Slaw' is an unusual amalgam of wonky electronica with a bebop horn section underpinned with a sparse guitar part and wandering bass line (there’s no discernible melody part apart from a repeated horn figure).
Some mellifluous saxophone towards the end of the number increases the 'woozy' feel of a piece that sits in Zappa territory and, therefore, possibly best enjoyed with a jazz cigarette.
'Dirtmouth' is slightly more immediate with a repeating bass part allied with a trip-hoppy drum part.
Two guitar parts trade rhythm parts while the saxes take over melodic duties and some improvised solos, the fiery highlight of which is provided by guest player, the acclaimed saxophonist James Brandon Lewis.
'Solanin,' featuring Brandee Younger on harp, opens with some acid-jazz electronica that makes full use of stereo imaging. A repeating melody contributed by alto sax player Andrew Morrill then follows before the tempo drops and Younger’s harp is subjected to delay and modulation effects, adding to the 'other worldly' feel of the number.
'Never In My Short Sweet Life' continues in a similar vein with what sounds like a mellotron being used as a pad, which adds to the slightly unsettling feel (bassist Scott Rixon locks in well with Bobby Granfelt here, despite the fact that the drum parts are certainly less than traditional).
The number then drops in intensity, featuring more effected harp and a grand piano in the outro.
'Robert Pollard,' a short, avant-garde jazz piece devoid of rhythm parts, acts as the mid-album interlude (the number is also, presumably, a tribute to the American singer and songwriter who is the leader of indie rock group Guided by Voices).
'Unified Dakotas,' which features guest Jeff Parker on guitar, is about as mainstream as High Pulp get (hence its choice as a single).
A mix of post-rock guitars, head-nodding drums, bright horns and electronics (with a whiff of ambient music meeting jazz funk), the totality is something that could comfortably sit in a Herbie Hancock album or time travel back to an experimental Miles Davis, as Bobby Granfelt hinted at in pre-release ("If you listen to the trumpet writing you can hear explicit choices and tones inspired by 'Sketches of Spain').
'Fast Asleep' initially follows a more traditional route but then breaks down about half-way through to indulge in more weird dream (or nightmare) electronica before returning to the horn-driven theme.
'If You Don’t Leave The City Will Kill You' is the album’s most insistent number.
Driven along by a sequencer part and funk bass line, this track is probably closer in spirit to preceding album Pursuit Of Ends, whereas the rest of the album is more laid-back, as further evidenced by the aptly titled 'Fatigue,' which follows.
Featuring a cameo by esteemed guitarist Kurt Rozenwinkel, 'Fatigue' returns to the unsettling avant-garde vibe of the album (seemingly random keyboard sounds and saxophone contributions combine to sound like the soundtrack to an East European horror film).
Final number 'Bad Infinity' is a more up-tempo number driven by Bobby Granfelt’s insistent, trip-hoppy style, which switches from busy to sparse – the latter giving centre stage to another effective sax solo before playing out on another swathe of electronica/ film score music.
As previously noted, High Pulp are a more than capable collective but they are not for the casual jazz listener.
Days In The Desert represents a progression from Pursuit Of Ends but there are times where experimentation displaces cohesion, and moments where you are genuinely drawn in only for a left-field turn to spoil the mood.
Or does it? Maybe that’s the point.
Maybe this collective wants to major on the unusual, knowing full well that Days In The Desert is an album that can only be gauged, absorbed, or even understood on repeated listening.
With jazz cigarettes optional, of course.
Nelson McFarlane
FabricationsHQ
'If You Don’t Leave The City Will Kill You' is the album’s most insistent number.
Driven along by a sequencer part and funk bass line, this track is probably closer in spirit to preceding album Pursuit Of Ends, whereas the rest of the album is more laid-back, as further evidenced by the aptly titled 'Fatigue,' which follows.
Featuring a cameo by esteemed guitarist Kurt Rozenwinkel, 'Fatigue' returns to the unsettling avant-garde vibe of the album (seemingly random keyboard sounds and saxophone contributions combine to sound like the soundtrack to an East European horror film).
Final number 'Bad Infinity' is a more up-tempo number driven by Bobby Granfelt’s insistent, trip-hoppy style, which switches from busy to sparse – the latter giving centre stage to another effective sax solo before playing out on another swathe of electronica/ film score music.
As previously noted, High Pulp are a more than capable collective but they are not for the casual jazz listener.
Days In The Desert represents a progression from Pursuit Of Ends but there are times where experimentation displaces cohesion, and moments where you are genuinely drawn in only for a left-field turn to spoil the mood.
Or does it? Maybe that’s the point.
Maybe this collective wants to major on the unusual, knowing full well that Days In The Desert is an album that can only be gauged, absorbed, or even understood on repeated listening.
With jazz cigarettes optional, of course.
Nelson McFarlane
FabricationsHQ