EACHO / KNOX / DU BOSE / SIOZADE (A FERVENT SEND PROJECT) - BILL LASWELL PICKS MY KIDS UP FROM KINDERGARTEN

Fervent Send is an Eclectic Prog collective of musicians from several different countries that was brought together by Jon du Bose of Lenoir, North Carolina. The current line up of this band consists of Jon Du Bose (guitars, bass, and various instruments as needed), Magnvs Mendez (drums, percussion), Lobsang Kedrub (percussion and various instruments as needed), Jason Rubenstein (mellotron, moog, keys), Jeff Eacho (flute, violin, cello, and other various instruments as needed), Sabastien Siozade (guitars), Gauthier Trumel (drums, percussion and various instruments as needed), Colin Robins (sax, guitars and various instruments), Trey McLamb (drums, percussion), and Myriam Martian (voice), and Robert Knox (drums). Their music can vary from one album to the next, and certain members of the collective might be used on one album, but not on another all depending on the sound and style that the collective is trying to create. This has led to the band performing as splinter groups, though always under the name of Fervent Send. Also, sometimes other artists are called on to perform with the band, much in the same way that King Crimson created their "ProjeKcts".

The EP known as "Bill Laswell Picks My Kids Up from Kindergarten" is one such album which was released in August of 2019. The album utilizes four of the Fervent Send members, namely EARCHO, KNOX, DuBOSE, and SIOZADE. These members of the collective were utilized to create a psychedelic/space rock style for this EP. (The manner in which the collective shifts and reshapes itself for different albums to create different styles are the main reason they are considered Eclectic.) This album contains only 2 tracks and has a total run-time of 26 minutes.

The first track is "Boppin' Bobby Fripp Finds Dead Flies in His File Cabinet" (8:16). The music begins in a mysterious style with a heavy bass line and guitars with cymbal rolls and such. As the music continues, mellotron, flute, violin and other instruments get added in creating a nice sound that moves from nice and smooth to dark and heavy quite easily as it rolls along. The psychedelic/space rock style is there, acting more like texture behind some really nice melodies and solos that switch up consistently as the background acts more as the foundation anchoring it all together. This really creates an excellent and dynamic musical style that is really much different than the psych/space rock sound you might be use to. Around the 7th minute, there is a definite turn for more heaviness and dark texture as the guitars become more solid and the violin takes complete control in a sweeping solo. The whole thing comes across quite spectacularly, and even at 8 minutes, it leaves you wishing it could just continue on.

The 2nd track is the title track "Bill Laswell Picks Up My Kids from Kindergarten" (17:56). This time, the music starts out smoother and rolls along as soft drums and jangly guitars play in a harmony that is just a bit off creating some unease in the rambling smoothness of it all. The overall sound is a bit hazier than the first track and this time the ties to psych/space rock are much more evident. The musical foundation just rolls along with occasional un-emphasized improvisation from layers of flutes and keys manage to stay unfocused enough to sound more like layers all melted together that float right along with the background. On occasion, you can hear a guitar, synth or violin break out of the layered sound only to quickly return to the meshed sound of the band. At 8 minutes, the beat becomes more pronounced and so does the guitar melody that alternates on a set of two note sequences that back and forth. A churning low synth starts to stir things up and this brings in an intense set of quickly strummed guitar chords that carry a short and dark melody that repeats itself. Intensity continues to build as the music rolls on and soon, spacey effects join in. The effects eventually break up the guitar riff and the drums level things back out to the smoother, but this time quicker, beat. Dark effects continue as the guitar hashes out a new repeating thematic element before the 14th minute mark. Subtle changes keep things moving forward as it goes along to the end.

As usual, the collective proves that these musicians can work together quite effectively in creating the sound they want to create for each individual project they do, and that even though they live countries and oceans apart, they can still coalesce their parts to create some excellent sound. I find the first track to be a masterpiece and the second track is more loose tying it more to the space rock style, and it does carry on for quite a while, but is still quite excellent as different instruments stand out in a melodic soundscape. The EP is a great testament to the talent of these musicians with my only complaint being that I wish the first track was much longer and the 2nd one about 5 minutes shorter.