Sopko Laswell Pridgen: s/t (self-released, 2015)

October 3, 2015 at 7:56 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Sopko Laswell Pridgen: s/t

Demented avant-jazz-rock from the trio of guitarist Mike Sopko, bassist Bill Laswell, and drummer Thomas Pridgen, along with several guests including Anticon keyboardist Martin Dosh. Laswell’s signature rubbery, atmospheric bass sound is all over this, and Sopko’s guitars swarm, overpower, and attack, often sounding like there’s several of him playing at once. Pridgen’s drumming is similarly ecstatic and crashing. Together, the trio create a collision of sounds which feels fractured and frenetic, but actually has a remarkable flow to it. “Detroit” is far less cluttered and noisy than some of the other tracks, and has a sly funk groove as well as fluttering sax by Joshua Smith. The tracks with Martin Dosh on keyboards are noticeably more atmospheric, especially the drumless “Daybreak” (“Shades of Sunny Days”, without Dosh, has a similar effect, but is much tenser). “Praxis” is named after Laswell’s long-running project with Buckethead and Brain (among others), and has a similar hard-edged yet funky feel. A nice, wide-ranging collaboration.

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The Answer Is In The Beat