It Begins

Artist: Thunderboogie
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Label: Independent


"The journey from idea to reality."

Earlier this month, Thunderboogie let their second release, It Begins, loose. Clocking in a little over 20 minutes, each of the three tracks on It Begins displays a different aspect of what the group is capable of. Kicking the album off is "The Call" with an intense speech about risking our lives today for the future, traveling towards that time, and accepting the call. We then travel to a beautiful sanctuary while in-flight with "Quarky the Galaxy Bird." Then we safely land in the grooving grounds of "Geejam," the concluding track, that climbs musically through many different zones.

A neat aspect of this album is all you are hearing was, at one point, a live take. When recording these songs, Thunderboogie would play it from top to bottom without stopping to take the best cuts. Bassist Jake Downey said the fun in recording this was seeing "which jam told the best story for each of these songs." The chosen cuts for It Begins display these excellently. For a release with only 3 songs on it, you get more of a musical satisfaction then you would anticipate. You can partially thank the trumpet for that; it always adds such a distinct sound, especially when it is the only given horn in a group.

"The Call" opens It Begins. The 5 minute 26 second Middle Eastern influenced song simply drags you into this work. Justin DiLuiso, a long time friend of Downey delivers the thesis of It Begins altogether, compact into one eerie speech pushing the point that "for the future we must risk our lives. But when we get there, all shall be created." This song brings some of the most prominent funk on the album due to dominance of the rhythm section and the bass-in-your-face style of playing, a beautiful and recurring aspect of this album. When it boils down to horns, the given lines the trumpet delivers are a bit lackluster for the track. This, though, is due to the fact that in the recordings he is not nearly loud enough comparatively to the remainder of the band.

Do you ever find those songs that, even on the first listen, strike you in a certain place? A place very solemnly touched upon musically. For an indescribable reason, you feel an urge to give it another listen, and every time you do so there is a new feature flourishing in your ears. Personally, this is what I would have to describe "Quarky the Galaxy Bird" as. Every given aspect of the song delivers to its fullest potential. This beautiful tale tells us of Quarky and his journey from Earth to Outer Space. He begins this journey shortly after he realizes that he shouldn't fight the air with his wings, but that he must reach the height where he floats harmoniously like the clouds. Every time this beautiful ballad is played, the improvised segment of the song displays Quarky's journey from Earth.

Not long after we have begun this trip through music we escalate towards the finale, "Geejam." An (almost) instrumental that spends 9 minutes and 10 seconds on a musical journey that transitions from beautiful soaring dynamic areas, to the house of what seems to be a lesser experienced spawn of Page McConnell and Ray Manzarek with piano tickles galore, to a Jimi-influenced land where the four on the floor dance party the rhythm section is throwing gets coated by echoing guitar work and bulletproof trumpet accents. What better way to end a nice musical journey then with a beautiful vocal cadence repeating itself a couple times as the band slowly pulls the song to a halt?

Look at this album as a sandwich. There are a top and a bottom bun, and delicious contents in the middle. Without the essential buns, the structure that holds the sandwich together and makes it complete, it would be a mere single that had no conversational value. A bun-less burger. When all together though, you have the entirety of the meal, buns and all. The main focus of the sandwich may be on what is in the middle, yet it would not be nearly the same without the components that made it all one piece. That is how I look at It Begins. You can find serenity in "Quarky the Galaxy Bird," but that is not to say that "The Call" and "Geejam" aren't excellent pieces. They both collectively complete the work and make it what it is at this very moment.

- Woocci

Ŝanĝi

Artist: Foussion
Release Date: March 10, 2013
Label: Independent

Foussion's sophomore effort on bandcamp, Ŝanĝi, is an eclectic eight track album that is sprawling in its themes. This four piece fusion band from Madrid brings a lot to the table; with all instrumental songs showcasing drum, bass, piano, guitar, and saxophone. One can hear the obvious Latin and Spanish influences on this album over a fusion and jam base. This gives it a sound similar to that of Carlos Santana and other prominent Latin-rock musicians of the late 20th century.

What is notable about this work is the group's ever present sense of concurrence and interconnection, and how the band accomplishes this while its individual members flourish in flashes of creativity. The drummer really shines on the opening track, "Umami," which leads the group through abrasive,  jarring (yet adamant) themes as well as softer, more delicate ones. This is an occurrence which pops up again throughout the album. The second track, "Outro," lasts only about a minute, but uses an interesting effects-laid palette of textures. The guitarist accomplishes a compelling comping effect through the sublime use of delay as dreamy piano and saxophone fade in front and behind. "Stuck In The River" shows a bit more of Ŝanĝi's latin and rock influence. Here and in other moments, the group shows their skill in setting out-of-the-ordinary grooves, but could do much better in building things up or bringing them back down from theme to theme. Perhaps they could accomplish this by doing more with fine tuning and listening in to one another for specific nuances.

"In-Decision" is a beautiful solo acoustic song that is delicately busy. The guitarist takes folk and flamenco influence to a pristine place in under a minute. "Journey" opens by continuing this approach with each member contributing to a delicate feel in a synchronicity that is both disjointed and congenial. It quickly explodes into a theme that sounds almost like a ballad, but the group persists in building and jamming through it. When it comes to exploring different themes together yet still holding a great sense of individuality and improvisation among the specific members, this is the album’s best example. All this while tastefully building and bringing things down. From soft fusion rock, to a walking bass groove, and back to soft piano solo, it seems as if this band's quietest moments are the ones with the highest energy and that is something that is extremely hard for even the most professional groups to accomplish.

"Intro" fades in creepily with organ, drum, and bass. This short track has the band exploring a new and very dark realm that is found only again in "Manhattan". It almost sounds as if "Outro" were injected with a much more sinister element. The album's single, "Sometimes," opens delicately which, after listening up to this point, seems to be this pianist's forte. It moves slowly at first in the sax solo, but then the group fluidly supports what the saxophone has to say. The musicians do a great job in the second half; all contributing to the sound equally and sound as if they are on the same page completely. The closing track, "Manhattan," holds an ominous and sinister sound like in "Outro," but does so with an enormous amount of energy. The first half starts with Latin and Fusion overtones and quickly starts delving into a trance-like second half laden with effects.

This album is worth a listen because of all the varying musical genres it visits. There is something for any fan of rock, jazz, latin, experimental, or jam music on this album. What is great about it is the crispness in which the band accomplishes this fusion. Many of the album's songs are only a few minutes long but, touch upon many different genres in that time. My only misgivings of this album were of moments where the group seemed to hold back as if waiting for something to happen. In some of the longer songs, there were themes that were not necessarily dragged out for too long, but definitely could have used some more variety and individual contribution from the members (notably the keyboard player). Other than that, this album goes to so many different places that it deserves every single minute of its listening time and is available on Bandcamp or the band's website for 5 Euros.

-Alex Walsh