THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE

Norwegian rock band The Samuel Jackson Five sure knows how to lay down some impressive grooves on their self-titled, fourth album. I was not disappointed by this collection of instrumental spacey tracks (I could do fine without the two vocal songs). While it seems that most tend to talk of SJ5 in terms of postrock, I feel like with this latest album they're sounding a bit less postrock and jazzy than earlier releases, and a bit more spacey, psychedelic, and even krautrock-esque. Compositionally, these guys are at the top of their game, delivering accessible songs that are densely layered and maturely arranged. The choice of instrumentation is always top notch, mixing a slew of arpeggiators and gorgeous leads with the occasional traditional instrument, like the sax on the track "And Then We Met the Locals." On a side note, the way the piece erupts and then leaves you floating out in space with some hyper-melodic female vocals is breathtaking. In reality, this album is all about fun musical ideas and sounds. Take "Never Ending Now," the first track, for instance. I originally got my head spun with the intro, wondering if the playback was messed up, until all the cool bells, nice beats, and dazzling fuzzingly melodic bass came in. I'm looking forward to a fifth album from these guys.