Brasstronaut
Mt. Chimaera
(Unlimited Sounds)
Rating: 3.6 of 5
When one says jazz-pop, a few artists might come to mind. Herb Alpert. Steely Dan. Surely, those are some throwback names. What might the future hold for the genre? We may have the answer to that question in Vancouver band Brasstronaut. Between the breezy rhythmus, the synthesizers, and the colorful horns—all in song format; I’d say that their latest release classifies.
Mt. Chimaera postdates two EPs from Edo Van Breeman’s unclassifiable four-piece outfit. And, comparatively, encounters on something more brisk and poppier.
This record picks up steam early as the first song “Slow Knots” culminates around gated piano and shouted whoops. Drummer Brennan Saul utilizes the brushes behind “Hand Behind” as singular trumpet laments from Bryan Davies complement the electric guitar swells nearly to perfection. John Walsh’s wooly electric bass line on “Lo Hi Hopes” propels from the intro to the 6/4-metered chorus. However, the lot of these recordings tends to define Walsh as primarily a stand-up player.
The final track “Insects” is an engaging eight-minute medley teeming with dynamite transitions before reverting back to the opening motif in chilling Dixieland threnody.
Many of the vocals resound cavernously; looming just barely above the turbulent frenzy of the multi-instrumented backing band during pinnacle moments. The crescendos are majestic and anticipated, yet the guitar solos are nonexistent. Instead, Brasstronaut relies on Van Breeman’s chiming piano parts and Davies’ linear horn lines—all to great effect.
Pleasingly unconventional in its approach as a pop record, Mt. Chimaera is crisp, yet soothing—an ideal nighttime listening enjoyment
Slow Knots - Brasstronaut
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