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Tracklist | |
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01 - Memai 03 - Summer Goddess 03 - World wide 04 - Crush! 05 - Sabotage 06 - Scoop Out 07 - Sahara 08 - 破片 09 - The Black Widow Blues 10 - The Whte Widow 11 - I-rony 12 - Last Long 13 - Satsuriku New Wave 14 - Need For Speed |
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Review | |
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Soil & "Pimp" Sessions have been riding the high waves of popularity for a couple years and the quick turnaround time of their releases has been keeping them solid in the spotlight for longer than most expected. With the foreign press in Europe (like BBC Radio1's Gilles Peterson, who awarded them the John Peel Play More Jazz Award for most original musical boundary breaker at his annual Worldwide Music Awards) chomping at the bit and festivals booked all summer long throughout the continent, the pressure is on with Pimp of the Year, their third full-length in as many years. The band's style of hard club style bop has won over fans all over the world with an accessible fast and fun approach to bebop, arguably jazz's most prestigious genre. The band's greatest strength is that they realize their place and aim more for entertaining and wild compositions rather than taking on the artistic monuments of Parker, Davis, and Coltrane. This is much more a summer album for dancing or parties than it is meant to be critically dissected, though the instrumentalists are admittedly quite talented most of the time and the compositions fresh and exciting (even if they lack the artiness of the classics). In an review of this album's lead off single, "Summer Goddess," my colleague Mr. Route pointed out a number of problems with the band's style. Señor Route's major complaints focused around the constant high-speed pace and the subsequent muddled and unremarkable nature of each piece in the long run. I must agree that had Soil & Pimp continued to take this "route" they would have suffered greatly in the long run. Thankfully though, the band has addressed this for their full length and any fears of them prolonging non-stop twenty minute rush of that EP are certain to be dispelled on first listen. Pimp of the Year is easily the most diverse and well organized of any of the band's albums. The classic high-energy numbers which got them famous are concentrated in the front and back end where they end up being needed most. Likewise, they bring slow burners like "The Black Widow Blues" into the middle where the band can stretch itself out musically and offer plenty of new diversions and original ideas. The two-song album centerpiece of "Sahara" and "破片 (hahen)" combine for a thirteen minute stretch that showcases the band in all manner of environments and they pepper each section with invigorating riffs. These two epic numbers show just how much the band has grown in their short existence, demonstrating a newfound ability to carry and innovate where they previously might have faltered. The album closes with two highly experimental tracks, and like their fellow long-reigning Japanese Jazz champions Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Soil & "Pimp" prove their deft ability with the strangest of ideas making the inclusion of electric keyboards and bizarre, punchy, horn-driven rhythms into one of the album's finest moments. With the current pace of releases and the leaps in songwriting and instrumental ability between each year, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions are easily one of the most exciting young bands to watch. If they can keep up with themselves and release more work of this caliber and continue successfully experimenting with new ideas, it's not long before their status will turn legendary. The whole world is starting to pay attention to these jazz heroes and with Pimp of the Year it's not just the explosive live performance which deserves all the plaudits. We can only hope that some adventurous record labels (perhaps Matador would be interested?) pick up on the building buzz around the band and open the market even wider since we know that Soil & "Pimp" Sessions are more than capable of handling the slings and arrows of media scrutiny. |
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