If it ain’t broke don’t fix it – but the song doesn’t quite remain the same for GoGo Penguin given the presence of a few guests on this their latest, some carefully sprinkled in vocals and a bigger reliance on modular synths all part of the new developments in the arc of the history of their sound.
But fundamentally that electronic piano trio kernel of a unique Aphex Twin, E. S. T. and drum ‘n’ bass blended ball of energy from the Mancunian trio still scores handsomely.
The only original member still left in the band pianist Chris Illingworth is again with bassist Nick Blacka and brilliant drummer Jon Scott playing their own co-credited tunes.
Proudly Mancunian, ‘Fallowfield Loops’ is an overt tribute to the south of the city. The album has some Chris Martin-like vocals from Daudi Matsiko best heard on the tender ballad ‘Forgive the Damages.’ It’s OK.
The track ‘State Of Flux’ and the shivering strings of ‘Luminous Giants’ features crossover classical act the Manchester Collective and violinist Rakhi Singh. Again a bit of variety rarely hurts.
Blacka’s signature solo ostinato features are always a highlight of this incarnation of GoGo Penguin and for fans of the bassist ‘What We Are and What We Are Meant To Be’ stands out from that angle. It’s probably the best thing on the entire album. The throb of the bass is beautifully captured sonically by the engineer.
‘Background Hiss Reminds Me of Rain’ does exactly what it says on the tin at the beginning and is the one track here that acts almost literally as programme music. Brief and tantalising it’s another strong suit of this very accessible beyond any one genre foray. Overall it’s not jazz any more much or even at all if it even ever was. Ah, one to chin stroke to later if not too distracted by thoughts of Ascot and the runners and riders for the 3.40 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.
But for jazz listeners while not a featured race as such it’s easy enough to relate to what the trio are doing if my listening habits are in any way representative. I still reckon GoGo Penguin’s best album is v2.0. That cocoon of euphony is part of an already formidable heritage overall. And that’s even bearing in mind the whole caboodle of their corpus of work both pre and post Rob Turner. Hark back even further do, to when Grant Russell was the bassist when I heard the band in its primordial soup phase first. But this is a decent stab and enough to keep the listening faith. Reader: Are you going their way, dogged spang a lang lover – ah, they’ll lead you astray.
Photo: Wikipedia
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