Fresh on the heels of the West Coast // Pacific Northwest Compilation, we find ourselves welcoming yet another Portland newcomer. Animals Elders, the musical output of Lucille Cook, is a heavy jazz fusion that fans of Mouse on the Keys are sure to appreciate, but also fans of Fox Capture Plan and The Bad Plus.
It makes sense that Lucille describes the project as “jazz for people who like heavy music, and heavy music who like jazz.” It’s certainly a spectral sweet spot, where variations on classical theory can experience things like 11/4 breakbeats and other math-y treats.
This is pretty much exactly what happens on “Primal Pool,” which you can hear below.
_
The drums are very present in the mix, and given that the piano is the other main voice, the whole composition feels very percussive and powerful – if insanely short. Actually, if you check out the single on Bandcamp, you can see how “Primal Pool” was seemingly arranged twice. Once as a short version, and once as a long version that includes an intro. You can also find the intro as a separate track… in the middle.
That’s pretty math rock now that we think about it. Very non-linear.
Considering that “Primal Pool” is so promising even it’s shortest form, here’s hoping that the next thing they put out is longer, and keeps us this level of quality, because acts like this are a welcome break from more guitar-centric sounds. Not that we don’t live and breathe those kinds of things. Just saying.
Check out the deconstructed, reconstructed, but altogether present proof of concept at the Animal Elders Bancamp here. If you’re feeling super cheery and loaded, hey, buy us a coffee why not. Do it here. Otherwise, we’ve got all kinds of juicy stuff coming up in the near future. Thanks for reading!