High Pulp - Pursuit Of Ends [LP]

EPITAPH

£22.93

Cat. no: 278653
Format: LP
Barcode: 8714092786538
Release Date: 15 Apr 2022
Genre: Jazz

"We're a bunch of outsiders who refused to be kept out," says High Pulp drummer Bobby Granfelt, "we've never had an academic approach to jazz —most of us grew up playing in DIY bands—so it was the rawness and the energy and the absolute freedom of the music that called to us in the frst place

Indeed, there's something defant, something utterly liberating about High Pulp's remarkable ANTI- Records debut, Pursuit of Ends. Drawing on punk rock, shoegaze, hip-hop, and electronic music, the band's brand of experimental jazz is both vintage and futuristic all at once, hinting at times to everything from Miles Davis and Duke Ellington to Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine. The songs here balance meticulous composition with visceral spontaneity, and the performances are nothing short of virtuosic, fueled by raw, ecstatic horn runs ducking and weaving their way around thick bass lines and dizzying percussion.

While the Seattle-based collective is centered around a crew of six core members, they also make judicious use of a broad network of collaborators on the album, wrangling special guests like sax star Jaleel Shaw (Roy Haynes, Mingus Big Band), harpist Brandee Younger (Ravi Coltrane, The Roots), GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter Theo Coker, and keyboardist Jacob Mann (Rufus Wainwright, Louis Cole) to help stretch the boundaries of their already- expansive sonic universe. The result is a lush, cinematic collection that's as unpredictable as it is engrossing, an urgent, exhilarating instrumental album that manages to speak to the moment without uttering a single word.

LP Tracks: Ceremony / All Roads Lead To Los Angeles (ft. Jaleel Shaw) / Blaming Mercury / Window To A Shimmering World / Chemical X / A Ring On Each Finger / Kamishinjo (ft. Jacob Mann) / Inner Crooner / Wax Hands (ft. Brandee Younger) / You've Got To Pull It Up From The Ground (ft. Theo Croker)