God Alone – Etc. (Prosthetic)
Somewhere between blues, noise rock, and post-metal, we find Irish quintet God Alone. Their new album, Etc. was a huge surprise for me, and an absolute banger of an album. Perhaps you can best experience the breadth of the band’s sound by listening to the ten-minute “Kung Fu Treachery”, which goes to hell and back, and shows God Alone’s ease with disparate yet memorable musical composition. One of the great underrated noise rock albums of the year!
Insane in the Rain – Insane in the Rain
Carlos Eiene, also known as Insane in the Rain, is widely known for jazzifying video game music, especially from Nintendo and Pokémon franchises. This album, however, marks the first release of completely original material from the Seattle-based saxophone player. His composition style is, rather obviously, heavily influenced by video game music composers, and that makes for some truly awesome tracks on this self-titled debut. It’s groovy, harmonically complex, and showcases amazing performers. I’ll just say that not all tracks on record reach the same level of awesomeness, but I’m certain that the future is bright for this new jazz artist!
Wizrd – Seasons (Karisma)
Oslo’s Wizard—stylized as Wizrd—just released their debut album on Karisma records, titled Seasons. Right from the start, we feel the band’s energy and style, which is a fast-paced jazzy progressive rock blend. The band consists of members from Spidergawd, Megalodon Collective, Soft Ffog, and Krokofant, and the album has been produced by Jaga Jazzist’s Martin Horntveth. All of this makes for a brilliant debut album; I’m already excited to hear what they come up with next!
Angela Avetisyan Quartet – Eastern Sketchbook
Armenian trumpet player and composer Angela Avetisyan—Անգելա Ավետիսյան in her native Armenian—released Eastern Sketchbook. As the name implies, this is a “journey to the East”, traveling from Syria to Mongolia, through Siberia and, obviously, Armenia and the Caucasus. Angela is backed on this record by piano, bass, and drums, and joined on a few tracks by a violin or another singer. This jazz formation translates really well the various musical cultures explored in this album.