T.R.A.M.

I enjoy listening to a number of Genres, but Jazz Rock/Fusion usually gets my attention first. Naturally, I had to check out this release too, especially after what I read about the musicians involved.

Well, I was in for a bit of a cold shower here, really. The music does have jazzy elements, no doubt, but it's much closer to RIO/Avant than to Jazz Rock/Fusion. My first impression is that whilst this project may showcase talent and ability, I can't really detect much direction here. And to use a Jazz benchmark term - it doesn't really "swing".

Fragmented and slightly awkward compositions encompassing elements that range from Free-Jazz, Heavy-Prog to Weather Report's more Ethnic approaches and more don't really blend well together. I could compare it to random ingredients added to a soup and fingers crossed, hoping that it may turn out to be palatable. There is nothing much wrong with the actual ingredients and the spicing with the odd run on sax, flute, guitar. But the end result is Avantgarde soup.

This work reminds of Frank Zappa's more indulgent pieces where the emphasis is on delivering difficult arrangements - never mind that few will like the end result.

"Chasing sheep is best left to shepherds." These capable musicians are probably better suited to excel in their own strength than to dabble in Jazz. I am sure that some people will find "Lingua Franca" to their liking. From my perspective i find it more disturbing than satisfying.

This record also seems to be Terrazas show. The Djent solos employed by Reyes and Abasi have always been rather anonymous, but when nearly 90% of what you hear is Drums and Sax you start to wonder if they where simply hired to serve as part of the rythm section. Speaking of a rythm section, this band could have really benefitted from a good Bassist and Keyboardist. The bass-less soundscape makes everything sound very thin and cold, just like it did on Animals As Leaders debut album, only in that case it worked to that albums favor. When your intent is presumably to start a more traditional Jazz Rock group then im afraid that it doesnt cut it.

I think that this band has a lot of potential though, and i hope that we get to hear more of them in the future. On paper, it really is a dream supergroup come true.

The essential premise of TRAM is a good one, the technicality of Animals As Leaders, but not limited by the "metal" part that AAL was forced to write in, along with some fantastic horn parts over the top. Tosin actually stated he had much more musical freedom writing for TRAM than he did with the second AAL album, which hopefully hints at a second release for this group.

The music is definitely that, there is a definite hint of Animals As Leaders, with Tosin''s signature guitar style coming through often, but the Brass really takes the show here, most evident in songs like Consider Yourself Judged and HAAS Kicker. The drumming is also very well done, coming from a band like Suicidal Tendencies, it seems that Moore really has a talent that we don''t hear anywhere else.

Definitely worth buying to see a better side of AAL that many hoped would come out on Weightless. 4/5