The frontman of the British jazz collective known as The Comet is Coming, Shabaka Hutchings, and Frank Sinatra walk into a bar. Sinatra begins waxing lyrical on ‘flying to the moon’, to which Hutchings replies, “hold my beer”. And thus, my disillusioned fantasy for the inception of this LP is instigated by the London-based trio - the product is one of the most elusive and cosmically-soaring records of the year.
Having worked on an equally-elaborate jazz record of last year with his other collective, Sons of Kemet, Hutchings has carved out a name for himself within a field of music which requires a refresher course or two in today’s landscape. As the main saxophonist and clarinetist on Comet’s 2nd record, Hutchings excels in fusing together the otherworldly sounds of soul, electronic, funk, and prog-rock into the realm of modern jazz. For a genre which was given a questionable makeover from La La Land not all that long ago, Hutching & Co’s deeply mystical LP triumphs as a breath of fresh air against the stale-turning set of musical tropes with has previously burgeoned the genre.
The seminal prog-rock acts of the past 30-odd years, from Talk Talk, to Porcupine Tree, to Swans, imminently come to mind with the LP’s opener ‘Because the End is Really the Beginning’ - drifting amongst a sea of synthesisers. Along with the simmering, slowly-progressive tempo bolting the track’s fervour down, this tone-setting opener invites us into Comet’s world beholding the future of jazz.
‘Birth of Creation’ births the creation of afrobeats and basslines bubbling into a melting pot of intricate jazz, revelling in the empowering clarinet solos. Yet ‘Summon the Fire’ and ‘Blood of the Past’ launch the LP into another ether with infectiously dancey pulsations bolstered by beefy drum beats giving free reign to Hutchings’ enigmatic saxophone wanderings. Transcending into the politically-charged spoken word poetry from the eclectic Kate Tempest, adds yet another layer to this multi-dimensional world of jazz. ‘The blood of the past is here...the blood of the murders, the bodies like sacks leaking brain’, Tempest spits into the dystopian world she views beneath us - at this point it may be realised that this isn’t conjuring a distant world but rather a biting critique of our own.
Hutchings' wandering saxophone permeates through to the next 2 tracks of the LP’s mid-section, ‘Super Zodiac’ and ‘Astral Flying’, swirling amongst perpetual synth chords soothingly blanketing the listener. The sheer audacity and nature of the various woodwind instruments to maintain their omnipresence throughout the story of this LP is truly admirable - from the blaring solos within the former track, to the backseated nature of the latter.
For its landing back down to earth, the LP ultimately fares well in spite of a rocky descent from ‘Timewave Zero’ and ‘Unity’. The elongated nature of these tracks, whilst intricately put together, deem forgettable as we approach the not-too-distant culmination of this LP - particularly ‘Unity’s sombered approach to the procurement of steady percussive beats, and scanty synth chord progressions.
Yet as aforementioned, the LP’s landing glides down to earth with such finesse from the finale track, ‘The Universe Wakes Up’. Shimmering saxophones exuding bright and melodic tones allows Hutchings to bow out on a formidable note - revelling brilliantly in the jerky, spazzy drum sequences built within this cosmic landscape and truly showcasing his prowess within a new era of futuristic jazz.
The few years since Damien Chazelle’s jazz-inspired film La La Land now seems distant with an otherworldly LP such as this one. Whilst it may not appeal to the same masses as the Hollywood juggernaut, Hutchings has ultimately set a precedent for what we should expect from jazz at the turn of this decade - integrity, experimentation, and incorporation of other prominent sonic tropes. Reminiscent of Miles Davis’ experimental ‘Bitches Brew’ of 1970 and Kamasi Washington’s cataclysmic ‘The Epic’ in 2015, The Comet is Coming have similarly produced an LP which has sent shockwaves to the encumbered community of jazz followers. From the beefy basslines of ‘Summon the Fire’, to the meandering saxophone within ‘Super Zodiac’, to Tempest’s spoken word spouting seared in ‘Blood of the Past’, this collective have contested with Sinatra’s claim on this experimental jazz record - flying us to the moon and back again.
8/10
The Comet is Coming's latest LP, Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery, is out now and can be found here.
Tickets for their upcoming UK tour can also be found here.
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