New Music Sundays: 8/19/18

Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids: An Angel Fell

Wow, this one's a treat. The Pyramids were a free jazz combo in the '70s who put out several records during the decade before disbanding in 1977, but they reformed in 2012 to first put out We Be All Africans and this year, An Angel Fell. For those who aren't big fans of the messy, chaotic structure of free jazz, not to worry: An Angel Fell takes the whole of black history and distills it into an arresting, astounding musical whole. Jazz sits alongside, R&B, funk, and reggae so seamlessly and naturally it will just feel like a new form of music. This is the next chapter of 'jazz fusion' as a genre, never before thought of outside of deep in the minds of cosmic travelers like Sun Ra, Roland Kirk, or my choice for closest comparison, Arthur Doyle. Listen to The Pyramids' astounding, moving, 'Soliloquy for Michael Brown' and you'll hear that same richness of tone from Ackamoor's sax that Doyle got out of it in his ultra-intimate bedroom recordings. An Angel Fell is a triumph, and is not only among the best albums I've heard this year, but for as long as I can remember.

The Body: I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer

As far from the unbridled joy of An Angel Fell as you can get. The Body started as an extreme metal duo, but they've been moving steadily into a new, unexplored direction for a few albums now, and I'm not sure if you can even classify them as 'metal' anymore. The closest point of comparison might be the solo works by The Haxan Cloak, where it's all viciously oppressive atmosphere, but even that is selling The Body a little short; I Have Fought Against It... is like pure, unbridled malice put to tape. Ruthlessly experimental, the album's waves of electronic noises pound you into the dirt, and Chip King's absolutely horrifying vocals call to you across some immeasurable gulf. Actually, forget The Haxan Cloak; the best comparison might not even be any other band or performer at all, but the soundtracks to the first few Silent Hill games: clanging, godless, weaponized ambiance. It's difficult music, but one that's guaranteed to give an emotional response to any listener. By the time you finish I Have Fought Against It..., you'll never forget it, and you might be a changed person.