Martin Rev

Medeski Martin & Wood - Radiolarians II (2009)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 293 Mb | Artwork (web) -> 2 Mb
© 2009 Indirecto Records | IR05
Jazz / Jam / Jazz Funk / Avant-Garde Jazz

The second volume in keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood's Radiolarians series is, much like the first, wildly eclectic. Certainly all the trio's records could be classified in this way, but few of them are as playful and musically adventurous as the ones in this series. Once more, the band incorporates everything in its own brand of modern jazz: from funk and rhythm & blues to the vanguard tradition; from soul and rock through carnival music, country, and beat-conscious grooves. "Flat Tires" opens the set and comes off all distorto-rockist in the intro thanks to Wood's nasty bassline that feels more like an electric guitar riffing before it's addressed by a couple of taut rolls by Martin and some wailing carnival organ by Medeski.

Proof that punk was more about attitude than a raw, guitar-driven sound, Suicide's self-titled debut set the duo apart from the rest of the style's self-proclaimed outsiders. Over the course of seven songs, Martin Rev's dense, unnerving electronics - including a menacing synth bass, a drum machine that sounds like an idling motorcycle, and harshly hypnotic organs - and Alan Vega's ghostly, Gene Vincent-esque vocals defined the group's sound and provided the blueprints for post-punk, synth pop, and industrial rock in the process. Though those seven songs shared the same stripped-down sonic template, they also show Suicide's surprisingly wide range. The exhilarated, rebellious "Ghost Rider" and "Rocket U.S.A." capture the punk era's thrilling nihilism - albeit in an icier way than most groups expressed it - while "Cheree" and "Girl" counter the rest of the album's hard edges with a sensuality that's at once eerie and alluring…