Prog meets post rock with a hint of disco. Sounds like a bad idea, but this ‘Scandiwegian’ trio pull it off rather well. Bly de Blyant is drummer Øyvind Skarbø, guitarist Hilmar Jensson and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, the latter playing bass, Moog, organ, banjo and more. What they don’t sound like is the same thing all the time. This, their second time, is apparently more focussed than their debut ABC, but it still covers a range of styles and eras in its eight tracks.
‘Michael Jackson Pollock’ is almost heavy metal, ‘Westkreuz’ could be Wilco and ‘Bunker Hill’ is pretty much free jazz, and it’s followed by the banjo which is something of a highlight on the delightfully titled ‘The Eighteen Irascibles’. There is never a dull moment and it’s all over way too soon as seems to be the Hubro style, but better that than too few ideas dragged out over too many tracks. The recording was made live, without headphones and with a “wide variety of analogue instruments”, which might be why it sounds good and why the disparate pieces work in themselves and as part of the whole. Anyone with an interest in the intersection of rock and jazz should find this an intriguing release.
By Jason Kennedy
More articles from this authorRead Next From Music
See allMusic Interview: Jah Wobble
- Mar 27, 2024
Music Interview: Don Reedman
- Mar 27, 2024
Album Review: Orbital – Optical Delusion
- Mar 20, 2024
Album Review: Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
- Feb 28, 2024