Days in the Desert

Conjuring an acidic dreamscape inspired by the Mojave Desert, Seattles High Pulp deliver a heady, psychedelic blend of jazz improvisation and electronic grooves on 2023s Days in the Desert. The follow-up to 2022s Pursuit of Ends, the album features the core ensemble of drummer/bandleader Bobby Granfelt, keyboardists Rob Homan and Antoine Martel, guitarist Scott Rixon, and saxophonists Andrew Morrill and Victory Nguyen. At the center of much of High Pulps sound are their woozy, kinetic percussion grooves, drawn equally from electronic drumnbass traditions as from the swinging, modal, and spiritual jazz of players like Tony Williams and Lenny White. Most of the tracks straddle the line between electronic production and improvisatory jazz, like the opening "Slaw," which starts with bleepy robot synths but ends in a dark chamber jazz cloud of white noise and reed harmonies. Equally balanced is "Fast Asleep," whose laid-back snare drum groove and Baroque sax lines bring to mind Thrust-era Herbie Hancock. Joining High Pulp are a handful of guest collaborators, including tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, who spits fiery atonal bop lines against a verdant sine wave of electric guitar twang and woody drums on the drony "Dirtmouth." We also get electronic producer Daedelus, who adds fractals of synths to the groups bright horn hits on "(If You Dont Leave) The City Will Kill You." Elsewhere, harpist Brandee Younger builds a shimmering string wall on the spacey "Solanin" and Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker offers blues asides on the 70s R&B-inflected "Unified Dakotas." There are equally potent contributions by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, keyboardist Telemakus, and bassist MonoNeon. Days in the Desert is a spiraling, hallucinatory experience, blurring the boundaries between studio-crafted ambient soundscapes and an engaging live jam. ~ Matt Collar