Jazz

The Omnific, Escapades (Wild Thing Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The Omnific lays out an amazing array of heavy instrumental prog on Escapades.

The Australian trio The Omnific is Matthew Fackrell (bass), Toby Peterson-Stewart (bass), and Jerome Lematua (drums). That’s right. Two bass players. I’ve been saying for years, “You know what you never see? Two basses in a band.” I am going to have to retire that one from my altered-state repertoire. They play instrumental progressive music across a range of styles from metal to rock to jazz and pretty much everything around and in between.

Expect the unexpected. Seriously. The bass lines are breathtaking; sometimes difficult to believe they are real. I love Les Claypool and he is clearly one of the best, most accomplished bassist in the history of modern rock – I bet Les would on board with these constructions and also be impressed.

In every style that emerges, the progressive lines elbow in and, rather than overpowering the demonstrated course, they join with it to create a synergistic time-lapse garden of music. The sharp pops of the bass, heavy syncopation, and a pulsing, turbulent energy are massively compelling forces.

And then there are songs like “Dwam” that are soft, melodic, beautifully enchanting. “Ne Plus Ultra” could be the soundtrack to a roving spaceship that may or may not be lost in the farthest reaches of the universe. The possibilities undulate with an aura limitlessness.

The closer is “Posterity.” When I think of the title to mean all and everything that comes next, the music fits right in. The lyricism of the keys seem at first to be in contrast with the punchiness of the rhythm, but as with the other pieces it all flows together and, while I wouldn’t call it linear, it does coalesce into meaning that is at once obvious and profound. Recommended.

Escapades is out on Friday, October 8th and can be picked up at Wild Thing Records or Bandcamp.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://theomnific.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/theomnific

Wild Thing Records, https://www.wildthingrecords.com/collections/the-omnific

The Omnific, Escapades (Wild Thing Records 2021)

Titan To Tachyons, Cactides review (Nefarious Industries 2020)

Wayne Edwards, , ,

If you are looking for music that sounds like the inside of a crashing spaceship if the entire crew was blasted on edibles as the impact approached, you have found it.

This might not actually be improvisational jazz, but it certainly sounds and feels like it. Titan To Tachyons is a NYC band centered around guitarist Sally Gates who, along with Matt Hollenberg and Kenny Grohowski, endanger your piece of mind with their music.

The press release describes the group as an “avant/instrumental metal trio.” Their Bandcamp page describes the band as a “new trio” and their music as “Instrumentally depicting the realms of surrealistic sci-fi, the band make use of angular and experimental passages, juxtaposed by fluid grooves and metallic flurries.” The Facebook genre is “Prog/Experimental/Metal.” So what is going on here? I think people are going to have a very individualized experience listening to this music. For me it lights up my dysphoric madness receptors and I enjoy the chaos and Les Claypoolesque clankiness that shows up regularly. What I am not hearing is the metal. You have to listen very hard for the metal. Fuzzy tones do pop in now and then with the fluid and delightful guitar work, and there is a crunchy riff there and again, but the chaotic avant-garde is front and center – it is most definitely piloting this vessel.

The songs have a gravitational center around the guitar, but not necessarily a geographic one. There are a lot of ideas at play, yet you can detect patterns if you are looking for them. Alternately, you can just let this all flow over you and do what it does. In fact, that is the better idea – let the music do what it does.

Cactides is out on Friday, August 14 on LP and digital. You can stream two tracks right now, and there is some merch to snag, if you like. My advice is listen to some of this on Spotify or the like first and see what you think. If it is your thing, kick some cash in at Bandcamp. Recommended for the adventure.

Band photo by Karen Jerzyk.

Links.

https://titantotachyons.com

https://titantotachyons.bandcamp.com

http://nefariousindustries.com

https://nefariousindustries.bandcamp.com

Titan To Tachyons, Cactides review (Nefarious Industries 2020)