Jazz
We’d been warning here at Tótum Revolútum Press that a new Tauk album was on its way, and now it’s here. “Equalizer” has the kind of runtime records used to have: 35 minutes, all high quality, with excellent production — living up to the old saying that if it’s short and good, it’s twice as good.
And from the opening bars of “Melvin’s Mind” we can already tell this is the good stuff. It’s the opener, fusing elements of instrumental rock and jazz-rock. Powerfully delivered, with flawless playing and an instrumental richness that keeps our ear jumping from player to player. Everything’s done in the best possible taste, as Kenny Everett used to say, with plenty of groove in both the delicate and the forceful moments. Above all, there’s good musical judgement here, with class taking priority over technical showboating — and that, too, is a form of virtuosity. What a track.
And now that we’re hooked, we get “Traverse”. Danceable, if waltzes are your thing, since it’s built on an elegant 3/4 rhythm. Charlie Dolan’s bass work is tremendous, with an iron-clad presence, and Alric “A.C.” Carter’s keyboard playing is equally magnificent, showing off impeccable taste. Huge talent.
“The Fly” opens by combining ethereal keyboards with Matt Jalbert’s precise guitar. The track is built on Arabic scales that contrast with some fairly metal-adjacent rhythms at points. Worth highlighting is how everything holds together thanks to Isaac Teel’s sense of pocket on drums. This is one of those songs you listen to and think you’d love to actually be a musician.
On “Translation” we get horns. And honestly, it’s hard for me to tell whether they’re real or virtual, since technology moves forward at a ridiculous pace these days, but I’d bet a chickpea they’re virtual. Either way, they suit it perfectly, adding a fresh colour to what we’ve heard so far, and steering us down paths between smooth jazz and jazz-rock. Halfway through the track we shift into a triple-metre rhythm, sweetening our ears with a lovely passage that spills into the track’s more rock-oriented section. The conclusion arrives, and we could almost say it travels down the paths of musical epic, with doubled-up guitars, closing the loop with the same bars we opened on.
Listening to “Come on Now”, on the other hand, that sense of fluidity isn’t quite as strong from the start. Personally, I think this was the moment to give the guitar a different tone, since it plays a dominant, almost lead role, and it doesn’t quite work in the softer sections. That said, once the ostinatos arrive halfway through the track, things get serious. The metalheads among us will probably find it a bit lacking in punch on that front, but it’ll still delight most listeners. And it says a lot about the band that they’re able to take a fresh turn, leading us into more delicate moods with lovely melodies to close it out.
Over a simple but unimpeachable rhythmic foundation, which stays in place through the first half of “Sound the Alarm”, keyboard and guitar develop the main theme in unison. We reach an ambient interlude that has us nodding our heads, and before we know it we’ve been led into some smooth-jazz passages. In short, the musicians do whatever they please with the listener. We close by returning to the opening rhythmic line.
And the short-and-sweet part comes to an end. “Home of the Beast”, at this point, could refer to any of these musicians’ actual homes. Reductively speaking, this track sounds like Pink Floyd met in a drum-and-bass club. That description doesn’t do justice to the richness of the musical language on offer here, precisely because it’s so oversimplified. And to top off the track, we get a thoroughly rocking conclusion worthy of plenty of progressive-rock bands.
Honestly, pulling off a record with this kind of fusion of moods and styles is within very few people’s reach. It’s admirable, and I’m sure those of you who didn’t know them, like me, have already added them to your library, checked where they’re touring (don’t get your hopes up, they’re American), and visited their store to offer some material support so they can keep making music at this level of quality and commitment. Well done, indeed.
Writer: David Sàez