Pros: Groundbreaking brew of organic jazz twisted and torn apart by studio hands into new formations
Cons: Experimentation overreaches its goals becoming unlistenable at times
The Bottom Line: Another quality addition to the Blue Series, "Amassed" is the Industrial Revolution of Jazz - the synthesis of man and machine in an ugly yet addictive guise
e-kleptic's Full Review: Amassed by Spring Heel Jack
The meeting of jazz and electronic music was a natural inevitable one like two genres coming full orbit from the same source of creativity. Both forms of music sustain a sense of mood and atmosphere featuring musical structures vastly different from the usual verse-chorus-verse restraints of pop music. However, mostly the meetings between jazz and electronica have been slight acknowledgements (a nod of the head, a knowing grin, a handshake) - however starting with "Masses" and now "Amassed", Spring Heel Jack and their collaborators have smashed the two genres head on with a force sure to be felt throughout both fields. Released under the label Thirsty Ear's Blue Series, "Amassed" joins the label's stunning roster of innovative albums that are changing the landscape of modern jazz including DJ Spooky's "Optometry" and a future session with hip-hop producer El-P.
Spring Heel Jack is a duo consisting of Ashley Wales and John Coxon from London, England. They originally started out their careers mining the manic breakbeats of drum 'n bass but a heavy jazz influence had always lay bristling just beneath the surface. With 2001's critically acclaimed "Masses", Spring Heel Jack scratched open the surface - joining their love for the spontaneity of free form jazz with the programmed rhythms of electronica. The idea, in short, was to enlist several extremely talented jazz players to improvise over the electronic landscapes laid down by by Wales and Coxon. Furthermore, Spring Heel Jack went into the studio and manipulated the solos - cutting them up and twisting them into grotesque mutations of their former selves. Jazz purists wept. Drum 'n bass purists scratched their heads.
Spring Heel Jack continue their uncompromising path on "Amassed". The album feels like a natural extension of what Spring Heel Jack started on "Masses". Then again, that's not a bad thing: basically the same idea as "Masses, but less structure and more focus on the free-form part of the equation but at times they overreach their grasp. For this album, Spring Heel Jack have enlisted an impressive ensemble with Hens Bennik on the drums, John Edwards on the double bass, Ed Coxon on the violins, Evan Parker on the saxaphones, Paul Rutherford on trombone, Matthew Shipp on the Fender Rhodes, George Reber on the electric and acoustic bass, Kenny Wheeler on the trumpet and flugalhorn, and a surprising turn by Spiritualized's Jason Pierce (credited as J Spaceman) on the electric guitar. At most times, however it's difficult to pick out the organic elements of the music as opposed to its studio conterparts. There's a dark brooding pall that envelopes the album in an murky industrial gloom. It's almost as if machine and man dance and duel on the album creating some unholy matrimony.
A lonely tense saxaphone introduces Double Cross - while deep electronic undercurrents gurgle beneath. A horror-filled violin draws across a menancing note. Chimes bleed into the mix unpredictably. As the song builds, the layers become more thick and hard to distinguish. A muted crunch breaks through the layers and then things start to unravel before your very ears. The violin bow screams like nails against a blackboard and a cut-up sax sputters like a broken machine. Then almost begrudginly, the album settles back into its intial suspense. Much of the album works in this manner operating a high-wire trick between intense polar emotions. It's not exactly easy listening either - at times, you'll feel like your heart just experienced an arrythmia.
The title track is even more menancing. A dead hollow reverb rattles inside the speakers as chilling pianos sneak in Exorcist-style. Then each instrument follows adding to the juggling act, pretty soon wailing saxaphones are flailing on top of stacked drums. Turn down the speakers because halfway through the song, all hell breaks loose as it sounds like a million instruments flying in different directions. After this outbreak, the song dies back down with random clangs and rattles whimpering in the background.
Lit utilizes a pecuiliar sound as a backdrop (pages ripping and then crumpling). It's one of the more relaxed moments on the album as the trumpet's lovely pastoral melody is buoyed by what sounds like organ chords. The respite only lasts about five minutes as the song segues into Maroc. Parker's saxaphone sounds like it's trying to pick up a broadcast signal, interrupted by shards of an electric guitar. 100 Years Before is the longest song on the album - stretching over nine minutes long but it's one of the most impressive performances. Over the course of the entire song, melodic solos lash out and then dive back down. The song has no structure whatsoever - just an amorphous mass of static crackles, weird noises, and brief instrument solos. An impressive performance does not make a good song however - and despite their best intentions - 100 Years Before does not reward the listener with the amount of effort it takes to listen to this song.
In fact, that's the problem that plagues much of this album. It's far easier to admire Spring Heel Jack and their friends for what they are doing, than it is to love them for it. Aside from Lit, there are really no real melodies palpable to the ear, that means the listener is going to have to search for them beneath all the electronic debris and fuzz. In other words, Spring Heel Jack like to take the scenic route rather than giving it to the listener on a platter. Still, "Amassed" features some brilliant moments to behold. For example, Duel - an intense battery of sound with maniacal drums whipping the saxaphone into a frenzy will simply blow minds. The last song Obscured is a highlight. A heavy throbbing beat sounds from the depths while the instruments emerge in a cacaphonous rampage. Despite its shortcomings however, "Amassed" is worth a listen for adventurous ears from both the jazz camp and the electronica camp. It's bold spirit is admirable so if it's been a while since music has frayed your nerves and left you uncomfortably shaken, then "Amassed" is your answer.
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