The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis explained

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
Type:studio
Artist:the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
Cover:The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis.jpg
Alt:A photo of two musicians playing
Studio:Tonal Park; Washington, D. C., US
Genre:
Label:Impulse!
Producer:
  • Don Godwin
  • James Brandon Lewis
  • the Messthetics
Chronology:James Brandon Lewis
Prev Title:Transfiguration
Prev Year:2024

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis is a collaborative studio album by American jazz fusion group the Messthetics and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, released on March 15, 2024, through Impulse! Records. It has received positive reviews from critics.

Reception

In Glide Magazine, Jim Hynes wrote that this music "the intersection of free improvisation and the spirit of punk-infused rock n’ roll" and continued that "the album succeeds even more so by the shifting sonics that give way to melodies and infectious hooks". In Spin, Reed Jackson scored this release an A−, characterizing the collaboration as "volatile chemistry" that results in the rhythm section sounding more like their prior band Fugazi. Editors at Stereogum chose this as Album of the Week, where reviewer Chris DeVille wrote that the music "often operates within a jazz tradition" but also displays the musicians' other influences and this allowed him as a non-jazz critic to appreciate the songs; he ended his piece speculating that it "might just guide you somewhere new and exciting too". A feature in The Washington Post by Chris Kelly states that "Lewis’s saxophone adds a bold voice to what the trio has done previously" and notes that "the album was written and laid out to leave room for [guitarist Anthony] Pirog and Lewis to toy with melodies, trade solos and play together".

Track listing

  1. "L'Orso" – 4:40
  2. "Emergence" – 2:59
  3. "That Thang" – 3:11
  4. "Three Sisters" – 5:16
  5. "Boatly" – 7:27
  6. "The Time Is the Place" – 5:59
  7. "Railroad Tracks Home" – 7:15
  8. "Asthenia" – 2:33
  9. "Fourth Wall" – 6:56

Personnel

The Messthetics

Additional personnel

See also