Troyka is a jazz band leaning on the experimental side of things, reaching outwards instead of trying to stick to the norm. Their first self-titled album was very light and smooth, but still had many musical intricacies, most of them coming from the guitar. On their sophomore “Moxxy”, they’ve quickly evolved into a more whole-band sound, where the very concept of each song is interesting and well conveyed by every instrument, more reminiscent of math rock than of jazz in its execution.

With their third release, Ornithophobia, the band keeps experimenting with various rhythmic and melodic patterns which give away a wide variety of sounds, from “Arcades”‘ jazz sound, to “Life Was Transient”‘s sort of wonky drum n’ bass feel, to the title track’s more math rock-ish vibe, and so on. It is certainly their most achieved work to date: the guitars and keyboards interweave to great effect, and the bass and drums contribute to the songs’ rhythmic integrity, and all of this goes so well together that it’s almost orgasmic. The other songs aren’t letdowns either, each one of them brings something new or a new take on a concept. Another interesting example is “Thopter”, which begins with some TV or radio excerpt introducing a story, and the song being more ambient than the others.

Truly, Troyka is a band to be aware of and to constantly keep on your radar. All their albums are great, and they only keep getting greater! A must!