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Review: Adult Jazz — Gist Is

Leeds four-piece Adult Jazz’s debut LP is something very different. Gist Is is an interesting take on pop music – the 9-track album has little in common with what one would identify as typical of the genre. It is that very deviation from traditional song formations that makes the album so intriguingly beautiful.

Album-opener ‘Hum’ shows off the band’s distinctive sound. The track builds up slowly and all of a sudden we are left with frontman Harry Burgess’ vocals exposed over a dark synthesiser and atmospheric howling. Yet this change in tone is both controlled and unstartling, and, despite further changes in direction, the song remains coherent through its seven minute course. With such exciting fluidity and variety, ‘Hum’ begins the album as it continues – no one song’s duration is predictable.

Insofar as instrumentation is concerned, Gist ls is quite faultless. The addition of various brass and woodwind parts contributes positively to Adult Jazz’s sound. The searing trumpets and soothing bassoons which decorate the end of ‘Am Gone’ demonstrate the band’s ability to use orchestral instruments unpretentiously.

Burgess’ voice is simple and innocent – it suits its backing perfectly. Such a natural voice is a breath of fresh air compared to the forced style popular among many indie artists, such as Joe Newman of Alt-J.

The accessibility of Burgess’ voice is not, however, reflected in his lyrics. These are, for the most part, ambiguous and quite impenetrable: “Bold claim to taste a feel in felt!” exclaims the frontman in ‘Be A Girl’. While the obscure lyrics do make the record quite hard to connect with, it simultaneously gives the album permanence – it cannot be wholly understood after just a few listens.

The third track, ‘Springful’, encapsulates the essence of the album with its dark harmony, staccato guitar lines and effortlessly intriguing production. ‘Spook’ is strident and beautiful, and is perhaps the most enjoyable track on the album. The listener is sent halfway to Berlin’s Berghain during ‘Idiot Mantra’ – the techno-esque pulse is intense and hypnotic. ‘Bonedigger’ is a wonderful album-closer that shows off Adult Jazz at their best: sporadic drums and warm horns enrich the texture and the vocal melodies have an instant appeal.

Gist Is is an album that requires the listener’s indulgence from start to finish, which seems only polite given the four years of work that the record took to produce. Although its uncon- ventional sound will not appeal to all listeners, Adult Jazz’s impressive debut justifies such a long gestation. 

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