The last time
Budos Band
was heard from was on 2020's
Long in the Tooth
. Recorded before the pandemic, it showcased the restless American big band weaving elements of hard guitar rock into their drum- and horn-heavy R&B mix to excellent result. It also marked their final release for
Daptone
, their label since inception. Four years later, on the eve of their 20th anniversary,
released the six-track
Frontier's Edge
EP on
Diamond West
, a label set up by their guitarist
Thomas Brenneck
and baritone saxophonist
Jared Tankel
.
Never have
sounded as restless or unfettered as they do here. Their core influences -- from Ethio-jazz and Afrobeat to
Bar-Kays
,
Tower of Power Horns
, and
the J.B.'s.
; from '60s deep psych, '70s metal, and guitar rock -- are all given room to breathe in an evolved sound that showcases not only these characteristics but weave in several Latin tinges drawn from cumbia, the beat-driven Mexican jazz of
Tino Contreras
, the surf music fury of
Dick Dale
, the big-band horn dramatics of
Don Ellis
'
Electric Bath
, and the first two
Chicago
albums.
The opening title track places a reverb-laden guitar framed by brass right up front, offering modal harmonies and vamps atop a rhythm section groove whose margins are flamenco and mariachi, painted with traces of soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. "The Devil Doesn't Dance" sounds like a film cue in an action flick. The massive array of horns provide harmonic melody and rhythmic vamp as a Hammond B-3 fills in the modes while drummers
Brian Profilio
and
John Carbonella, Jr.
offer staggered breakbeats in elevating the band's groove quotient. "Crescent Blade" is centered around a circular reed and angular guitar chart that stagger harmonies and rhythms against an alternate set from the trumpets and trombones. "Passage to Ashinole" is a meditation on funky psych as riffing surf guitars join wafting B-3, dubwise reeds, and mariachi horns. Closer "Curled Steel" weds the notion of a thriller movie theme to garage rock & roll. If there is a downside to
, it's the time limit at less than 20 minutes. Despite the hurried pace, all six tunes are extremely memorable and catchy, and beautifully written and arranged. The tight, short, and mostly yet open-ended compositions on
offer another, more adventurous dimension to the
's sound. Here's to another 20 years. ~ Thom Jurek