The Dirty Three of jazz The Alcohotlicks are being lauded as ascendant, genre-transcendent renaissance renegades with no eye for limitations and no reverence for the stringent conventions that keep musicians and their creations in check [You what? – JS]. Are they jazz? Are they rock? Are they grunge? These seem to be penetrating questions for fan and reviewer alike. The answer is yes! The Alcohotlicks have taken the paradigms and commandments of traditional jazz and turned them inwards to produce frenetic and relentless contemporary jazz that traverses the borders of everything from the lullaby to psychedelic country funk. Accept that there is no particular category to latch onto here. In place of classification is an innate and instinctual understanding of sound and how all the broken edges can fit together. The Alcohotlicks honour music in the same way the Dirty Three do: by fusing it all seamlessly together into a Frankensteinian explosion of righteous awesome.link: http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13446
Genre. It's something that's handy to music critics and music historians like myself, because it allows us to easily group bands together to make describing a band's sound easier. Lots of the flange effect, poetic lyrics, and atmospheric keyboards? It's goth. Three chords, distorted to hell, with shouted lyrics? That's punk rock, my friend! Lots of nihilistic lyrics and simplified 70s metal licks? Chances are, you're listening to grunge. The Alcohotlicks.. are one of those bands that simultaneously dismay and excite music critics, because it's hard to put them into one genre, and we actually have to work to describe what the damn thing sounds like without being able to fall back on describing what they actually sound like. Are they a jazz band? Jazz has never sounded this raw. Are they a rock band? They sound like it sometimes, but there's no lyrics and more than three chords being used here. The closest guess I can make are that this is a jazz band made up of musicians who grew up listening to alternative rock, but even that's a stretch. So where to start? Hot In Hell.. sounds for all the world like instrumental hard rock, from the massive stop-start riff that begins the song, to the explosions of guitar acrobatics that start to kick in around the two minute mark. While the whole track is built around the same grungy four note riff, there are enough twists and turns, none of them predictable, to give the track an edge that goes beyond what a mere rock band can do. On the other hand, tracks like Down Town.. relegate the rock aspect towards the back of the mix, in favour of straighter jazz. Even those who are not frequent jazz listeners will be able to appreciate the skilful improvisations and twisting, turning melodies. Hey Man, Yeah Man.. channels old school surf rock, and there are echoes of other bands as diverse as Slint.., Deerhoof.. and even daggy prog-rockers like Yes... What's particularly impressive is that it all fits together, and the band make it sound so easy that you can't help but wonder why nobody has actually done what they do before. As much as us music journalists love genre, perhaps we need to accept that The Alcohotlicks.. are a band that truly defies being labelled. What's more, they do it while creating music that is enjoyable to listen to, has enough familiar touchstones for casual listeners to relate to it, yet it's technically impressive enough for music nerds to analyse it and enjoy it on a whole different level. If The Alcohotlicks.. can keep this up, they might just be able to bring jazz to a whole new audience.
You, You- The Alcohotlicks Not to be turned away by their immediately corny name,The Alco-hot- licks (flinch) have got a lot going for them.The instrumental romp Hot In Hell sets the tone very well here - proggy,thundering bass and a sort of flailing madness to the drums suggests a wild ride ahead. the guitar work is notable for its thick, dry arpeggios;the passages bend and twist,exploring the space in between notes rather than filling every gap with noodles and tricks.It’s not until I got through a few tracks did I realise that they are an instrumental band;and it works well to showcase their musicianship not to rely on the human voice - these instruments tell their tale in a unique voice.Like a jazz record,this album goes up and down,and although the songs can occasionally drift into uninteresting jams,the whole thing shifts and changes,explores various moods and keeps its audience guessing.It would be worth it to see these fellows in a live context - their tightly controlled musical banter must be something to behold.They should change their name,though.(AR)
