Throw Neck
Amalgam, 2020
8/10
An unclassifiable outfit with members who have lineage in Chicago and New York’s underground scenes, Je’raf are well versed in jazz, punk, funk and hip-hop, and they mesh them all with an eccentric and highly skilled delivery that few, if anyone, could replicate.
“Black Holes As Waste Management” starts the listen quirky and unpredictable with a free jazz approach as brass and dual gender vocals complement the funk friendly setting, and “Olive Juice” follows with frisky percussion and hypnotic bass lines as soulful vocals guide the exciting, hip-hop influenced unusualness.
Things only get more interesting from here, believe it or not, with the initially bare “(This One’s) For The Ether”, which recruits soft horns and elegant musicianship, while “Umbra” takes on a hypnotic quality as rapping enters the feral jazz. “S.S.H.P.”, one of the album’s best, then leads sparse with soaring vocals before a busy display of cabaret rock sweeps in with timeless melodies that’s both rowdy and calculated.
Towards the end, “Sad Boi (Feels Entitled)” benefits from spoken word alongside gentle drumming before playful saxophone contributes, and “Ballad Of The Flat Earthers” exits the listen with ominous story telling as strategic brass and a call and response tactic finishes out the affair.
Perhaps most closely related to art-rock, Je’raf never stay in one place very long, and it makes for a fascinating listen where each subsequent listen brings new finds as all 7 members contribute their respective talents to an iconoclastic brand of fusion.
Travels well with: Fugazi- Instrument; Doomtree- All Hands