Tuxedomoon rose from the heady atmosphere of
San Francisco’s post-punk golden age during the late 70’s
and in 1980 they fled Reagan’s America for Europe. Since
then they have been ever-present on the continents avant-garde
scene with their unique brand of eerie and atmospheric jazz-influenced
soundscapes. To say that the members of Tuxedomoon are prolific
would be a gross understatement. Steven Brown (vocalist, clarinetist,
saxophonist, keyboarder), Peter Principle (bassist and producer),
Blaine L Reininger (vocalist, violinist, guitarist, laptop botherer)
and Luc van Lieshout (trumpeter) have collectively and separately
been responsible for over 100 albums and many various collaborations
in the worlds of theatre, film, dance and literature.
Their latest effort, the 52 minute 8 track album,
‘Vapour Trail’ see’s the four-piece in total
synergy as they embark on a hazy, smoke-filled journey into sonic-oblivion
which is so contemporary it can be called ‘futuristic’.
The multi-dimensional sound on this disc is fraught with thick
and heavy atmospheric ambience which sucks the listener deep into
another dimension. Within this lush 3D dimension, motifs as diverse
as deep-fried guitar psychedelica, electro-acoustic noodlings,
slow and melancholy jazz, cabaret-rock and flamenco float past
in a beautifully arranged and totally captivating manner.
Opener, ‘Muchos Colores’ is an immense
body of music which sees slowly-spoken and slightly sinister Spanish
vocals sung over a heady and growingly prominent fusion of spaghetti-western
motiffs and dark, foreboding jazzscapes. ‘Big Olive’
takes the Mexican-cowboy soundtrack influence and injects a buoyant
jazz-punkrock fusion backdrop to create a sound which is not only
‘space-age’ but deeply rooted in genres of the 60’s/70’s
.
Like other innovative artists such as Supersilent,
Tuxedomoon are adept at moving the concept of traditional jazz
into new and exciting realms. With ‘Kubrick’, Tuxedomoon
create an incredibly unnerving and highly-textured jazz-tinged
soundscape which sounds like a contemplative Wayne Shorter jamming
over thick slabs of dark ambience and unsettling choral chants.
‘Dark Temple’ sees the elements of emotional lounge-jazz
deconstructed and brought to life within a murky, slowly-bubbling
wasteland of dark electro-accoustic ambience. Narrated vocals
reminiscent of ‘Enablers’ kick in after four minute
over a soundscape which has now taken on the dynamics of brooding
post-rock before exploding into a slow-motion mélange of
dark jazz and unrestricted electro-acoustic experimentation. As
the album progresses, the level of sophistication and invention
continues to grow. ‘Dizzy’ is a remarkably ambitious
and busy track which takes experimental Charles Ive’s-esque
electro-acoustic motiff’s and uses them as a foundation
to a highly charged soundscape of jazz-rock fusion. Elements of
the electro-accoustic work start to burst at the seems whilst
deep-fried electric-guitar noodlings float past. All the elements
start to rise and fuse into each other to create an incredibly
‘rocking’ and devastatingly intellectual piece.
‘Epso Meth Lama’ is a progressive
and disorientating fusion of choral chanting and jazz-rock played
over an ever-growing and spellbinding deep-techno backdrop before
moving into a more experimental, outer-space terrain. The closer,
‘Wading Into Love’ sees the fourpiece engage their
unique brand of jazz in a trippy dub-vibe with plenty of Hendrixism’s
afoot. Unfortunately, the modern-era King Crimson style vocals
don’t really add much value to the track.
‘Vapour Trails’ is a highly experimental
‘futuresound’ album which plays around with textural
and tonal quality whilst featuring enormous detail and meticulous
arrangements. This does not mean that it’s not melodious
and that it doesn’t rock because it certainly does. The
production values are integral to this as Tuxedomoon create a
warm, organ and wide soundstage which creates real cohesion. Tuxedomoon
has ultimately created an album which has achieved the great feat
of occupying both territories; popular and avant-garde, and as
such, ‘Vapour Trails’ is a highly listenable album
which will continue to reward the listener way into the future.
‘Vapour Trails’ has been released on the 30th anniversary
of Tuxedomoon and as part of the celebrations, a limited edition
version of this album will be released whilst the band embark
on a 17-date European tour. (KS)
For
fans of: Not many bands come close but imagine Charles Ives meets
Labradford (circa ‘mi media naranja’) meets Wayne
Shorter in a intimate and smoked-filled Mexican retro-bar in the
22nd century
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