SML
consists of five Los Angeles-based musicians who are all accomplished artists in their own right: bassist
Anna Butterss
, electronic musician
Jeremiah Chiu
, saxophonist
Josh Johnson
, drummer/percussionist
Booker Stardrum
, and guitarist
Gregory Uhlmann
. Their first album was assembled from live improvisations recorded at the now-shuttered venue ETA, as well as additional recordings made at the musician's homes. The record has a loose, fluid energy that appropriately feels like it's being captured in real time, yet there's a sort of surreal, supernatural element to it as well. It's hard to really narrow down what kind of music
plays -- there are grooves, there's ambience, there are solos, and there's group interplay, but it feels limiting to refer to it as funk, jazz, or electronic music. Opener "Rubber Tree Dance" has an elastic rhythm -- along with whirring saxophones and electronic interruptions -- set in motion but feeling detached rather than grounded. "Industry" combines a heavier Afrobeat rhythm with ticking drum machines and buzzing distortion which give it more of a noisy post-punk feel. "Search Bar Hi Hat" starts out with
Manuel Göttsching
-like cosmic textures, but becomes playful and joyous. "Switchboard Operations," one of several shorter pieces, suspends ringing percussive notes in mid-air and spikes them with rapidly zipping saxophone lines. Another brief track, "Chasing Brain," has more insect-like electronics with a restless boing to them. "Three Over Steel" has dizzying polyrhythms and jagged riffs, but its ambient gloss helps it go down easy. "Feed the Birds," another free-funk Afrobeat jam, continues the weird but friendly vibe.
lay down some heavy grooves, but their music is less about making people dance than it is about exploring space through communal joy. ~ Paul Simpson