What can be said about a band like Lespecial who can combine their prog rock discipline with funk sensibilities? Crazy is what they are. In a good way. Their latest album, Cheen, is a fun mix of disciplined musicianship and original ideas that rock right out. This disc offers many excellent musical passages in which the musicianship is so brisk and so full of nice, individual touches that one wants to restart each song to hear everything this three piece has got going on.
Opening cut “Donut Ghost House I” introduces us to their unusually thick low end throb, ethereal backing chorus, and tight electric guitar and drum trickles. This instrumental piece keeps kicking along a tight formation within this trio’s guitar, bass, drums magic.
“Onlookers” has more of a rangy motion. Its electric guitar spirals far and wide. A smooth bass run supports it with vigor while pulpy drum fills keep things jumping. The vocals feel full, alive, like an anthem that keeps one feeling motivated. This one just keeps soaring until the rhythm section add more chunk and the trio rocks it hard. These kinds of changes make Especial an interesting band in each track.
“Jackwise” makes the most of bass player Luke Bemand’s talents. Bemand lays out a feisty, chunky groove that, in lock step with drummer Rory Dolan, punch this number forward. It’s hard to pinpoint the prog rock influences and the funk influences that have found their way into this trio’s big, knobby sound. The three have seamlessly woven both genres into something impressive and accessible.
The eastern flavored “Sound That We Do” features rapper Zion I delivering a hip, soulful rhyme scheme. Beneath his words is a brittle Asian melody, electronic percussion, and synthesized bass line. While it’s impossible to label this track as either rap or electronica, Lespecial keep the listener engaged with their involving melodies and grooves. The whole tune offers a smorgasbord of coolly nudged instruments and voices that feel a bit 1950s beatnik, a tad 1960s psychedelic, and a whole lot like something out of a modern day film score. It’s imaginative and gripping.
Just when it seems Especial has gotten as experimental as possible they move into “Gallows Hill.” Multi-instrumentalist and singer Jonny G taps out an alluring electric piano melody over a darting synth line. The listener can feel this one taking him some place dark and scary. Yet, the urgent ripples of sound make the funhouse ride worth the while. The rhythm section keep this one in tense motion, leaving a platform clear for Jonny G’s twitching lead vocal phrase. His plaintive assertions come in carefully measured doses and fits inside the groove so well it’s insane.
“Pentachronic” finds Jonny G unleashing some brittle, high pitched guitar phrases that sing the main melody as prettily as a bird. A heavy handed groove keeps this one chunky and groove laden as the guitar engages the imagination with its fine fight of fancy. This one makes you feel the hard hitting groove while inspiring you with its high flying guitar tricks.
“Skull Kid” is a sprawling work. It has a swagger vaguely familiar, like a film score from a spaghetti western. Menacing bass guitar nudging and a piercing lead guitar phrase come together like fine wine and a great meal. Eventually, a line from Jack Nicolson’s The Joker turns this into something with even more heft. Full, tight, and heavier, the trio bare down on the pedal with some of their most precise ensemble work. The interplay here is fantastic with each instrument filling in a crucial cornerstone.
“American Apocalypse” is as dark and adventurous as its title implies. Lyrical descriptions of the post apocalypse world get a boost from a brisk bass line, a plethora of percussion lift, a galloping drum beat, and one of the creepiest vocal inflections around. The listener can feel this tune becoming the soundtrack for his visions of life after doom. Scarier still, Lespecial start to make their lyrics amusing as they conjure images of a not so sunny landscape.
“Stolen Land” skips across the sonic landscape with hipster, down tempo momentum. Taking their time allows Lespecial to unfurl riffy guitar lines, twisty bass lines, and a plentitude of drum fills. Each guitar line rings out with a soulful tone as Vocalist Jonny G croons with a morbid coolness. The way each instrument conjures its own sudden burst of cool makes it a fun number to follow. The way each element comes together in this potpourri is impressive. It’s hard to imagine too many other tight trios in which each is popping off in his own right while remaining true to an essential sound.
Closing track “Donut Ghost Home II” brings us full circle back to this trio’s introductory sound. Only here the guitar stretches out into something grander, wider, and more wiry.
Lespecial only gets bigger in raves and recognition every year. This new ten track Cheen album, recorded at Applehead Studios in Woodstock, New York and mastered at Chris Athens Mastering in Austin, Texas, with certainly cement their relationship with their ever growing fan base. They’re keeping prog rock alive and relevant to a whole new generation. Don’t miss their upcoming national tour.
