Bring Your Own
4/5
Being sent to Coventry can do strange things to some people, judging by these London-based skronkmeisters. It was during a gig in the UK midlands city just prior to their appearance at the 2009 Mercury Prize, in support of shortlisted LP Sensible Shoes, that they had a career-defining epiphany. Thankfully, this wasn’t to get wet-look perms and start playing Kenny G-style smooth jazz, but to embrace their inner rock gods, crank up the bass and go for broke.
The revelation has made this record the gnarly quintet have done so far; by stripping back the cartoonish tempo jumps, they’ve morphed into a lean, mean, improv-rocking jazz machine. Via a maelstrom of head-trip keyboards, jousting alto saxes, Holub’s King Kong-style beats and bassist Liran Donin’s lethal John Entwistle-meets-Jaco Pastorius sound, they’ve made the joins between the catchy tunes and the improv almost impossible to spot. Post-everything romp Bring Your Own is an unqualified success.
