DUCK

The band that was never meant to be, THE ARISTROCATS was the result of a chance performance of three musicians who happened to play a sole Winter NAMM gig in 2011 and presented such a crowd pleasing dynamic performance that a band was born and has so far carried out a rather innovative and fruitful career of innovative instrumental heavy hitting progressive jazz-rock. The mere trio of English guitarist Guthrie Govan who dazzled the world in 2006 with his "Erotic Cakes" album, bassist Bryan Beller who has bantered with everyone from Steve Vai and Joe Satriani to Dethklok, Dream Theater and Ephel Duath, and last but not least German drummer Marco Minnemann who has enjoyed an amazingly prolific career pounding skins with a huge swath of artists including Necrophagist, The Mute Gods, Ephel Duath, Freaky Fukin' Weirdos and the prog rock supergroup The Sea Within.

Together this trio has been cranking out a series of high quality innovative instrumental albums ever since and with the release of its latest whimsical titled album DUCK, is showing no signs of fatigue or burning out anytime soon. And what an album title! As evidenced by the salacious double-entendre track titles, THE ARISTROCRATS continues to exhibit a sense of playfulness and whimsy not experienced since the classic years of Frank Zappa or England's Canterbury Scene. The concept behind this album was quite a fluke as old demo titled "Sittin' With A Duck On A Bay" suddenly spawned an entire flurry of inspiration that led to the concept of a tale of a DUCK who decidedly takes a trip thousands of miles from his small island home only to find himself in the USA, a tale that emulates Guthrie Govan's own process of relocating from his native England to the sunny coastal region of Southern California.

With a propensity for frisky grooves and waggish syncopations that frolic about under the guise of heavy guitar-based prog rock in cahoots with the wily world of jazz-based fusion, THE ARITROCRATS are seasoned stalwarts of crafting a distinguished potpourri of musical components into a meaningful romp through nine tracks that just miss an hour's run of playing time. While the musical output is quite minimalist with a mere guitar, bass and drums in full creative engagement, DUCK finds a surprise cameo of Moldovan born Rusanda Panfili contributing a violin performance on the closing "This Is Not Scrotum." While known as a captivating and mesmerizing live outfit, THE ARISTOCRATS are equally adept in crafting studio creations that exhibit an exuberant flow of creative prowess that combines the world of jazz, boogie rock, prog and the occasional excursion into a more exotic musical endeavor.

DUCK is the kind of album that sucks you in from the getgo and never let's you drop out for a breather. The creative infusion that these three musicians suffuse through every measure, meter, cadence, motif and decorative musical passage is nothing more than amazing in how it all ties together. Maintaining a firm control of tight grooves, clever interludes, sizzling soloing skills and an above average compositional fortitude, THE ARISTROCATS has miraculously transmogrified a chance performance some 13 years ago into a veritable career of crafty cleverness that finds its imaginative efforts continuing to blossom in ever expanding bouts of plucky stoutheartedness. With a keen sense of keeping things from growing stale, DUCK delivers the ultimate musical anatine migration narrative for an excursion into the world of instrumental heavy jazz-fusion rock.

Great compositions with enough twists and turns to spice things up for an hour's run, DUCK is indeed a testament to a power trio that has staying power and an apparent abundance of resourceful inspiration. DUCK really does deliver a beautiful set of innovative ingenuity that is engaging and best of all vivacious, flirtatious and spirited in ways that keep the band a notch above the competition. From the feisty opening cleverly syncopated "Hey, Where's MY Drink Package?" to the closing Moldovan gypsy folk infused "This Is Not Scrotum" with its savory touch of Eastern exoticism, DUCK is a refreshing slice of primo power trio prog that is uncompromising and instantly endearing.