(Jazz-Rock, Punk Jazz, Contemporary) Get The Blessing - OC DC - 2012, WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

OC DC once again finds Get The Blessing elbowing their way out of easy categorisation. The Bristol-based four-piece have deftly ploughed their jazzy post-rock furrow since the release of their debut All Is Yes back in 2008, drawing enthusiastic comparisons to similarly inventive acts like Tortoise and Polar Bear. The follow-up, 2009's Bugs In Amber, cemented their affable rapport with critics and fans alike, and further defied the boundaries and boxes that were placed around them - the Metro claimed in its glowing review that, "Occasionally you hear a jazz album that you know would shift truckloads of units if only it weren't labelled ‘jazz'. Bugs In Amber is just such a disc."
From the upbeat rollicking title track that kicks off proceedings, to the lilting cinematic closer Pentopia, OC DC exudes energy and invention at every turn. As sax player Jake McMurchie suggests, "It's both more esoteric, more physical and more carefully crafted", whilst retaining the band's signature blend of strong melodic ideas, ferocious rhythmic hooks, tight compositional structures, and freewheeling improvisations. Trumpeter Pete Judge agrees: "It's less afraid to be itself than it used to be". A particular highlight is the unexpected guest cameo by legendary composer & musician Robert Wyatt - a delicious wordless chorale on the languid American Meccano, recorded in a Lincolnshire studio open to the sounds of birdsong and passing vehicles.
Get The Blessing wear their jazz credentials lightly but defiantly. A shared love of legendary saxophonist Ornette Coleman's early quartet inspired their boldly monophonic instrumentation. The intricate but absolutely rock-solid rhythm section forms the glue that holds Get The Blessing together, with the dual sax and trumpet frontline working with the bass to create melodies and harmonies.
Alongside their jazz roots, Get The Blessing's multiple other influences are also evident. Speaking of their 2008 BBC Jazz Award win for Best New Album with All Is Yes, bassist Jim Barr says, "We were total outsiders, the punk entry." Comparisons with punk aren't too far-fetched either, from the band's often thrashing rhythms and rocking riffs to their irreverent and mischievous attitude. At the same time, their music carries a genuine emotional punch, and is as capable of delicacy as it is of visceral power. This is not ‘difficult' music by any stretch; neither is it merely simple.
Drummer Clive Deamer and bassist Jim Barr have long provided the low-end rumbles and stuttering beats for trip-hop legends Portishead, and Deamer has recently been recruited by none other than Radiohead as their second live drummer for 2012 (he's also an established partner of Robert Plant, Roni Size, Hawkwind, Jeff Beck and several other contemporary luminaries). Not that the rest of the band are worried. "They are borrowing Clive in the hope that it will make them sound like Get The Blessing," says Barr with a smile; "No chance!"
With guest turns from Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley as well as Robert Wyatt, and influences including astronomy, psychology, Borges, and food, OC DC grabs the listener by the lapels and sets off joyously once more into the sonic wilderness. To further explore Get The Blessing's fascinating and idiosyncratic musical world...
Produced by Get The Blessing

Get the Blessing trumpeter Pete Judge says this new album finds the exuberant Portishead-powered quartet "less afraid to be itself than it used to be". With its thundering rock-bass grooves and scorching early Ornette Coleman/Don Cherry horn sound, "afraid" doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary, but this spirited set suggests Judge means they have more eclectic tastes than they've previously let on. With appearances from Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley (bassist Jim Barr and drummer Clive Deamer share Portishead duties with Get the Blessing) and singer Robert Wyatt, OC DC spans sinister, Morricone-like atmospherics, the Miles Davis of Sketches of Spain, a Joe Meek 1960s rock sound, Ornette-sax soulfulness, and a kind of jazz-rock systems music. The title track is familiar Blessing territory (chunky bass-guitar vamps, dirgey horn counterpoint, patient harmony shifts). The haunting trumpet melody and Wyatt's doleful wordless chant on Americano Meccano opens up the Morricone world, Adagio in Wot Minor has delicious sax/trumpet harmonies driven by taut drums, and if the looping, handclappy Pentopia went on twice as long that would still be just fine. ~ John Fordham

ODCD flares into life with a track of the same name as this highly anticipated release. A moody guitar riff leads to gritty saxophone melodies and driving rhythm. The blend of instrumentation (a sparse use of electronic effects against electric guitar and improvised jazz saxophone) immediately gives this album a timeless quality, mixing many eras and genres into a hybrid fusion.
The slightly slower and sombre ‘American Meccano’ is next, starting and finishing with a flurry of birdsong. The striking feature of this track is a use of soulful, groan-like vocals imitating the main melodic lines. This vocal echo seems to grow exponentially throughout, and adds a slightly sinister, brooding feel to the track.
‘Torque’ showcases a beautifully bluesy guitar riff, with an interesting saxophone solo weaving its way through the composition. After several minutes of impressive building percussion, this song drops into my favourite moment on the record: a lone, piano playing a chorded version of the original bluesy melody.
I was initially unsure upon reading the name of next track ‘Adagio in Wot Minor’, but after listening (slightly sceptically at first) this is indeed a fitting title. Though modern in style, it follows certain chord progressions reminiscent of the baroque era (around the 18th Century). This underlying classical chording is well disguised and moulded as dissonant and syncopated jazz.
‘Between Fear and Sex’ is a fast track with a dark bass line. It begins with a sparse texture that evolves into a repetitive, forceful reprisal of the melody. Though seductive, the pace of this piece is relentless and unstoppable. Just as this album verges on brash, ‘The Waiting’ provides a nice, gentle lull in the building force and pace. Though slow, it makes great use of electronic feedback, echoes and loops, and it’s lovely to hear some fretwork from the guitarist towards the end of the track. Its otherworldly, reverberated ricochets are almost surrealist at points, and possess a mournful quality.
After ‘Low Earth Orbit’, an up-tempo, expressive and brass-based composition, this beautiful LP ends with ‘Pentopia’. Just over eight minutes in length, this final track is more of a cinematic soundscape. Mesmerising saxophone solos seamlessly emerge from ever-expanding layers of rich harmonies. This is a fitting end to an album that is hard to place in a single genre, being an intense fusion of jazz, rock, blues and many other elements. ~ Joe Nerini

One of many popular British jazz acts currently exploring hybrid musical forms, Bristol’s Get The Blessing (featuring the touring rhythm section from Portishead - drummer Clive Deamer and bassist Jim Barr) are pitched somewhere between the punk immediacy of Acoustic Ladyland and the groove music of Medeski, Martin and Wood. It is the sort of music consciously designed to irk purists. The band’s third album OCDC may not necessarily be 2012’s most harmonically sophisticated or adventurous release, but it would be churlish indeed to deny its visceral thrill and sheer memorability.
With their lithe, sometimes distorted basslines (think of the Radiohead of The National Anthem more than most other contemporary jazz acts, especially on Between Fear And Sex) and atmospheric themes, there is a cinematic quality to this band’s music. The Waiting is both poised and graceful, a carefully executed balance of restlessness and movie soundtrack elegance. At times, the music here hints at the moody orchestrations of David Axelrod. Get The Blessing’s success is largely based on energy and the spirit of communication. It is bold, frequently loud and highly attacking. There is a carefully executed balance between the brightness of the band’s frontline players (saxophonist James McMurchie and trumpeter Pete Judge) and their brooding rhythm section.
By jazz standards, these pieces are mostly succinct (the longest is eight minutes and the average duration is around the five minute mark). Extemporisation is kept on a tight leash, and is often used more for sonic effect. Yet delve beneath the surface and there are some wonderful ideas that occur as a result of this. The dubby echoes on The Waiting are spellbinding, fusing textures from a variety of musical disciplines, whilst the superb trading of phrases between the always excellent Deamer and Barr on Torque is blisteringly exciting. There’s also some important dynamic and textural contrasts, especially on the propulsive Low Earth Orbit.
The band may find themselves reaching a whole new audience by virtue of a guest appearance from Robert Wyatt. The legend adds wordless vocals to American Meccano, one of the album’s highlights. This is another example of the group’s awareness of sound and timbre. The use of vocals considerably enhances the effect of American Meccano’s lilting melody.
One consistent element throughout is the group’s brilliant sense of groove. The opening title track is ushered in by the urgency of a dancehall beat. Low Earth Orbit skips fluidly between fast tempo and half time thrash. They are also not averse to challenging audiences with the odd tricky time signature. In fact, with Pentopia, the album may arguably close with its most adventurous and carefully arranged composition. OCDC is a further development of the band’s agenda, opening up the world of improvisation and integrating what can often appear an isolated field with other worlds of musical thinking. It’s also tremendously enjoyable. ~ Daniel Paton