Android Trio: Other Worlds

Having honed their musical chops in two of the most potent legacy bands going around, The Grandmothers, who specialize in the playful and occasionally self-mocking reinvention of the Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention repertoire, and the Magic Band, drummer-vocalist John “Drumbo� French’s uncannily inspired tribute to the music of his mentor and monster, Don “Captain Beefheart� Van Vliet, Android Trio felt it was time to put their vast array of skills and influences to use in something wholly theirs and original. Other Worlds see the band reaching deep into their bag of compositional abilities. On their Debut album, “Roads Songs'', the approach was, as the band puts it, more of a “recorded-in-a-hot-moment� style of album. Other Worlds on the other hand is a far more calculated affair. Android Trio wanted to create something that had the compositional weight of their many classic progressive rock and jazz fusion influences while also allowing the time and care in the studio to really develop the sound in the most exciting way possible, even to the point of doing things in production that might be impossible to do live. This is a true studio album with the approach and ethos of bands like King Crimson and Gentle Giant.

Musically Other Worlds definitely wears its heart on its sleeve. From the very first moments of “Angel Dance '' with its Ghanaian groove and snaking keyboard and bass that eventually bursts into King Crimson territory. The Playing all around is extremely dynamic and cool from a musicians perspective, while the music itself remains fun and engaging for the non-musician to appreciate. Throughout the album there are many influences and stylistic variations on display, including rhythmic complexity in the style of Discipline era King Crimson, Don Caballero and Sleep People on tracks like “Concentric Lines�, to Zappa inspired horn lines on “Serial Tune� with its modern minimalist Jazz fusion moments. Every song on Other Worlds has its own distinct journey of exploration and yet the album retains a satisfying sound uniformity. The production serves the music fantastically well and everything is clear and rich. The use of many different textures from the whirling B3 and other keyboard sounds to the chunky yet crisp bass to the experimental and adventurous guitar sounds and finally the angular and almost live sounding drums, is handled perfectly giving the whole album a warm familiarity with those albums that it is heavily influenced by.

Other Worlds is an ambitious album that clearly shows you the path that has been taken to get there while also showing you a bright future for this kind of music. Even though the music is heavily influenced it also never feels derivative or stale. Other Worlds is Dynamic and fun and creative.

Highly recommended for any fans of classic Progressive Rock, Jazz fusion both old and new and anyone who loves adventurous instrumental music.

Android Trio:
Andrew Niven- drums, percussion, synth, sequencers
Eric Klerks - bass, 8-string guitar, synthbass
Max Kutner- electric and acoustic guitar

with:
Mike Keneally- keyboards [3, 4, 5, 8, 11], guitar [6], samples [9]
Jonathan Sindelman -keyboards/organ [1, 3, 8]
Daniel Rosenboom- trumpet [5]
Jessica Lurie- baritone sax [9]
Gregg Bendian- vibraphone [12]

Track Listing:
1. Anger Dance (5:07)
2. Concentric Lines (4:11)
3. Extra Terrestrial Folk Dance (5:18)
4. Miscellany B (4:23)
5. Serial Tune (4:19)
6. Fanfare (3:41)
7. Secular Athletes (3:22)
8. Open Air (2:53)
9. Cryptosaur (4:47)
10. Take Me (5:40)
11. Water Song (4:37)
12. Quark (5:07)

Added: December 4th 2021
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 910
Language: english

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