Peaked In High School
cmntx, 2023
8/10
Listen to Peaked In High School
The trio of Blake Opper, Steve Williams and Grant Martin, as GoldBloom the Brooklyn outfit pen an exciting and unique spin on jazz across these adventurous 10 tracks.
The title track leads and makes an immediate impression with Opper’s smooth sax amid the hypnotic bass lines from Williams in the mesmerizing climate that’s very much rock focused, and “Trash King” follows with a calmer demeanor of dreamy song craft that benefits much from Martin’s skilled drumming alongside the soulful brass.
“September” lands in the middle, and is quite intimate, where the 3 show much restraint in the hazy beauty, while “Viewers Like You” displays the dynamic rhythm section that’s guided by Opper’s warm progressions on sax.
“Bison Copy” and “In Your Prime” exit the listen, where the former illustrates incredible bass playing that complements the soaring brass which builds into free jazz exploration, and the latter burns slow initially, before Martin’s animated drumming steers the listen into louder areas of alt-rock influenced jazz.
A raw, sometimes abrasive and solo filled affair, the Texas natives inject plenty of color and grooves into a fantastic debut finds the middle ground between arena rock and jazz improvisation.
Travels well with: Soft Ffog- Soft Ffog; Datadyr- Woolgathering