Hope
Northern Spy, 2021
8/10
The veteran guitar player Marc Ribot was feeling pretty restless in May 2020, and decided to get his bandmates Ches Smith and Shahzad Ismaily together and flesh out the appropriately title Hope, in part to combat the Covid fueled depression settling in.
“B-Flat Ontology” starts the listen with Ribot’s warm guitar alongside calm, gritty singing that burns gentle and emotive, and “Nickelodeon” follows with bluesy guitar and playful drumming from Smith as plenty of rhythm and groove brings ‘80s ideas into the fold.
In the middle, “The Activist” recruits insightful rapping/spoken word into a highly creative climate, while “Bertha The Cool” emits a soulful quality surrounded by Ismaily’s bouncy bass lines, prog-rock nods and spirited guitar work. “They Met In The Middle”, the album stand out, then screeches with alto sax thanks to Darius Jones as the proficient drumming adds much to a free jazz, avant-garde adventure.
Near the end, “Maple Leaf Rage” is initially calm and introspective, with contributions from Rubin Khodeli Gyda Valtysdottir on cello, before building into an unpredictable, soaring, instrumental that’s rock oriented in an eccentric sort of way, and “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” exits the listen sparse and packed with spoken word as minimalism is turned into a refined art form.
Ribot has had quite a colorful career that includes playing in many genres, and here he brings all of his life experience to punk, funk, blues, soul, New Wave and countless other ideas on what just might be the most original album of 2021.
Travels well with: The Art Ensemble Of Chicago- Tutankhamun; Grant Green- Funk In France