A train that runs into you and takes you on its back, zigzagging along imaginary rails that never really let you know in which direction you’re going. That’s the effect you’ll get when you listen to this album by Washington trio Messthetics, featuring the electric participation of saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. Lewis is a UFO on the jazz scene, one we don’t hear often enough. His style is a blend of Coltrane and Albert Ayler. He reveals himself in an assertive experimentation with sound that never strays far from lyricism. A marriage that betrays a visceral force of emotion and intelligence. He also spawns in the world of rock, and this is where Messthetics prove to be fabulous companions. Brendan Canty (drums), Joe Lally (bass), and Anthony Pirog (guitar) freely tease out jazz as much as rough-and-tumble rock, and even punk. The scope of this union is thrilling, and you can feel the oozing energy from the very first seconds of listening to this album, already in the pantheon of my must-have titles of 2024. There’s something of a post-E.S.T. adrenaline shot about this music, with a few heart-rending spurts thrown in for good measure. Two or three impressionistic ballads balance the whole perfectly. I can’t imagine what it would sound like live! But we’ll soon know: the incandescent quartet will be in Montreal on May 16 at Bar Le Ritz PDB. Don’t miss it UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!
