TRIBULATION

Hailing from Portugal, "Handwrist" is the musical project of multi-instrumentalist Rui Botelho Rodrigues. The music of this project is designated as Psychedelic/Space Rock however, there are a lot of jazz leanings in this music. Since 2012, the project has released 14 full length albums, which is quite impressive. The 14th album, released in April of 2019 is called "Tribulation", and consists of 9 tracks with a total run time of 39 minutes. Rodrigues plays almost everything but has utilized several guests on various tracks.

"Screen Staring" begins with an infectious jazz groove with some unique sounding keyboard sounds and a sax (played by an artist named Slick) playing the main theme that later give it over to an electric piano (played by guest Dan Harris). The main improvised melody passes back and forth between these instruments, and later, a wailing guitar takes the spotlight. "Artificial Euphoria" mixes some synth and trumpet (played by guest Ted Guy), and stays with a moderate psych/jazz sound. A sax also joins in later (played by guest Joe DeFiore). An interesting guitar solo comes in half way through that almost reminds one of Zappa (not quite, but it has the complexity) with the guitar playing in a different meter than the rhythm section.

"Friendly Surveillance" has a smooth jazz vibe but with a unique sounding collection of synth riffs and other playful keyboard textures. "Prefab Nostalgia" shoots for a more psychedelic sound with waves of keys and guitar playing mostly in contrast with each other and a bass line trying to hold everything together. "Patient Suicider" continues with that psych vibe which is led by a more electronic style and weird electronic voice effects. "Wages of Sin" has a lot of spacey effects at the beginning, but then finally settles into a funky bass line and jazzy keys. A guitar takes the main improvised them over later on while the bass holds down the bottom end with some fancy work.

"Common Filth" begins with spoken word taken from a public speech by Walter Cronkite. Keys play around and then bring in a slow moving bass and percussion with keys and synths providing a psychedelic sound. Through this instrumentally-caused haze, the sound of a clarinet (performed by guest Liam Kinson) and a hazy guitar provide a more avant-garde sound as the textures all mix together, everyone doing their own thing, but still strangely in sync. It's strangely chaotic and soothing at the same time with a complex jazz sound. "Usury & Sodomy" establishes a slow jazz/funk style with an interesting mix of guitar and sax and a poem recital from Ezra Pound echoing in the mix. When the vocal stops, a trumpet takes over (played again by guest Ted Guy) as the music takes on a psych/jazz style. Later, a heavy and fuzzy guitar comes in to replace the trumpet. "Fake Origin Story" (not inspired by Trump) is the final track. It fades in on some spacey effects, and some interesting percussive effects (congas, talking drum, Itumba all played by guest Kitzito Mubang Like). An interesting vibe develops from this and builds into an avant-jazz sound with vocals with heavy effects and lyrics added in later. This is another very unique sounding track with a bizarre mix of spacey music and jazz. The flute (played by guest Joe di Fiore) is a very nice touch.

This is a very interesting album that I would probably be more apt to list under progressive jazz more than psychedelic/space rock, however, there are aspects of both here, it just seems to lean more towards jazz. However, there are several other styles mixed in here and there, and there is also not a fear to move into avant-garde territory from time to time. The middle of the album seems to suffer a little bit as the tracks are shorter and not as well developed, but this is really a minor issue because the stronger tracks are really good. There is plenty of uniqueness and several interesting passages, but overall the sound is quite intriguing and shows a lot of promise, which it delivers on more than it doesn't. There are a few weaknesses here, but for the most part, this one is definitely worth checking out, especially for jazz fans who don't mind a little psychedelia and other-wordly sections added in.