The Quietus dropped their mid-2022 album list on July 4th, so it’s time for my semi-yearly check-in to see how out of touch I am with the smug elitism of the UK-based publication that specializes in confounding the whole English-speaking world with its befuddling list of obscure shit.

-I’ve heard of 34.
-I’ve listened to 16.
-I’ve only reviewed 2: Black Country, New Road and Spiritualized.

Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do! Here are three new reviews, and one of them happens to be #20 on the Quietus’ list. It should be higher.

Frank Zappa – Zappa/Erie
(June 17, 2022)

Yeah yeah yeah, this is technically cheating since it’s an archival box set release, but the Zappa freak in me loves a good box set. And since Zappa’s stupid wife died in 2015, Ahmet and Diva have been REALLY churning out the goods. Lately, it’s been a lot of stuff people have been waiting decades to get the official releases of, such as the complete 1973 Roxy concerts (as well as the movie) and the full Hot Rats sessions. And some of it is just fun stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day, like these Erie, PA shows from the mid-70s.

This set documents three shows mostly performed in the Erie area with some odds and ends slapped in from venues in other cities like South Bend, IN and Toledo, OH. Archival concert releases of this ilk have included some material that has already been released in one form or another, and this one happens to contain the “Elsewhere” portion of Roxy & Elsewhere; “Son of Orange County” and “More Trouble Every” from the Edinboro show. What I really like about this set is that the material covers 1974 and 1976, which comprise two entirely different lineups. I get a lot of my mid-’70s favorites in one box! Napoleon Murphy Brock! Ruth Underwood! The Ralph Humphrey/Chester Thompson drum set dream team! Ray White! Even Jeff Simmons! Jeff Simmons! He quit and came back for a hot minute, and here he is! George Duke! Terry Bozzio!

Oh fuck, and here’s the kicker: Lady Bianca! A singer in her 20s who had literally toured with Zappa for one month in late 1976. You can hear her in the Philly ’76 release too, but here’s even more of her lovely voice. You don’t get to hear many women in Zappa’s 25-year career, that’s for sure, and Bianca brings some vibrancy to some of these old favorites. Should’ve had more women in your band, you dumb dead motherfucker.

Obviously, I’m going to fully enjoy any box set dug up from the vault that comprises live concert material. The other flavor of Zappa box set comprises session outtakes, basic tracks, and interview snippets of studio albums. Those, while enjoyable, are much less exciting. This is the good stuff.

But don’t worry, Zappa/Erie won’t be counted in the final Top 2022 list. Because that would really be cheating. Because it would win.

Early Verdict:

Mary Halvorson – Amaryllis
(May 13, 2022)

Mary Halvorson first caught my attention with her contribution to John Zorn’s massive Masada Book Two – The Book of Angels undertaking. The avantgarde guitarist performed Zorn’s compositions with her quartet for the final volume of the 32-installment series, putting a cap on the project with a solid entry. The thing I noticed most about her music was that it was vastly different from the other guitar-driven installments of the Book of Angels. While seasoned freak guitarists like Marc Ribot or Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz provided ultra-loud and cacophonous takes on Zorn’s klezmer arrangements, Halvorson’s was much more reserved and calculated. Still speedy at times, but rarely aggressive. Her elaborate noodlings were captivating and calm; she makes it sound easy.

So I dug into more of her solo catalog. Trios and quintets and sextets and octets fill her discography as a band leader, comprising many different lineups of many different performers. Heavily influenced by Anthony Braxton’s unusual methodology of jazz composition, he mentored her into expressing herself uninhibitedly on her instrument of choice. Well, she took this advice to heart, because Halvorson is probably the most interesting and unique jazz guitarist working today. She doesn’t limit herself to the confines of “jazz” as an absolute system of rules and codes, but rather seamlessly weaves it in among other music traditions: rock, noise, classical, and flamenco, among others. The cool thing about guitar is that there’s guitar in almost every genre! The inspirations are limitless.

Amaryllis is the one of two albums from Halvorson to drop on May 13th, so I should give the other one (Belladona with the renowned Mivos Quartet) a listen at some point very soon. This album, though, is absolutely phenomenal, featuring a sextet with occasional involvement from the Mivos Quartet. With the opener “Night Shift”, you’re plunked right away into an angular labyrinth of layered guitar vibraphone (Patricia Brennen). Then the trumpet (Adam O’Farrill) comes in to ape the melody, culminating in a meaty, brassy solo. Then Jacob Garchick gets to flex his trombone skills. All backboned by Nick Dunston’s subtle bass, Tomas Fujiwara’s shuffling drums, and, of course, Halvorson’s slippery guitar work.

At times the group sounds right out of Eric Dolphy’s archival sessions, playing with sudden tempo shifts and off-color lounge atmospheres. Halvorson often bends her strings into peculiar microtones that sound like your record might be skipping. “Anesthesia” sounds like a complete breakdown of musical norms, just notes wafting and circling around a lazy river. Then there’s the energetic title track, featuring a fairly raw and straightforward O’Farrill solo blanketing some free-for-all bass and vibe runs while Halvorson strums her axe like it was a ukulele. The end sounds like a display of indulgent big band bombast!

Also worth mentioning are the interplay of strings provided by the Mivos Quartet on “Side Effect”. Sounds like a classical string ensemble fighting one another before the rest of the band jumps in. And is that the theme from Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor that I hear popping in occasionally? Resplendent!

And that’s just the first four tracks. I already wrote a ton; more than any other Newer Release Roundup write-up, I believe. I can’t get enough of this. If you’re even slightly interested in modern left-of-center sort-of-accessible avantgarde-y jazz (and who wouldn’t be, goddamnit?), this is all you’ll need in 2022 to satisfy your INSATIABLE CRAVINGS.

Now to check out Belladonna.

Early Verdict:

SAULT – Air
(April 13, 2022)

SAULT is currently fighting The Armed for the crown as the leading anonymous, enigmatic band in business. Each is similar The Residents in their respective genres. The Armed work hard to keep its members a secret through deceptive measures, such as playing live under different band names and hiring actors to pretend to be musicians. SAULT isn’t as mischievous, but the line-up is completely unverified (resources will simultaneously say that the project is led by Inflo and that such a claim is unconfirmed) and they refuse to play live, producing work as a studio outfit entirely. Therefore, there’s not much known about them! They had pumped out five albums between 2019 – 2021 with staggering consistency, especially drawing the attention of publications with the two-fer of Untitled (Black Is) and Untitled (Rise) during the height of George Floyd protests. SAULT became one of the leading voices of anger, sorrow, frustration, and optimism in 2020 with respect to Black injustice in the United States.

Already having established themselves as an R&B/soul/funk collective in their short timespan, SAULT makes a giant departure already with Air. This isn’t R&B, this isn’t soul, this isn’t funk, this isn’t or hip-hop or rock or jazz or afrobeat or blues. This is contemporary classical music, son. And it’s damn good classical music, too. There’s fluttering flutes and horns and strings and choirs and shit. SAULT made a suite! SAULT made a sweet suite!

The ups and downs and tense moments and beautiful releases are all over, bringing to mind some of the most awe-inspiring white-guy composer music from at least as early as the Romantic era. However, that’s admittedly short-sighted of me since my only frame of reference at this point in my life IS the white-guy composer music. Sorry, I can only try my best going forward. This is a great start for my journey, though. For anyone’s journey if they remain as ignorant about Black contributions to classical music as I am. I haven’t gotten so lost in an album this year as I have with Air, and I urge anyone with a passing interest in contemporary classical (or SAULT, for that matter) to give this a try.

Early Verdict: