I’ve written some news about Talibam! once before, and at the end of the article, I revealed a secret or something like a “personal secret.” (Come to think of it: I guess since us TMT news-boys are just about fully anonymous, any bit of personal information stands as a secret.) Anyway, I revealed to you all that I went to the same high-school as Kevin Shea — the Talibam! member with the strongest jawline. I’ve got another secret for you at the end though, too, so please don’t jump ahead or I’ll close myself off entirely! My friendship is a GIFT, reader, and it must be opened s l o w l y.
First things first: Talibam! are dropping two — not one, not five, two! — new albums on September 22 on the ESP Disk label. Entitled, respectively, HARDVIBE and Endgame of the Anthropocene, the former is a collaborative effort with saxophonist Matt Nelson of Battle Trance and tUnE-yArDs indi-relative fame and Ron Strabinsky, a pianist with as many credits as he’s got fingers, including Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Peter Evans Quintet, and Relache. HARDVIBE breaks up into two big chunks, two sides, and rolls in a heavy, neck-snapping jazz manner — chugging drums and keys, with Nelson’s sax tying a big knot ‘round the whole thing. Talibam! describe it like-so:
The HARD VIBE composition transforms aspects of rhythm changes into a disciplined sequence of minor key modulations to create a rigorous Hard Vibe obstacle course for the soloists over a tight melodic/rhythmic grid. Inspired by Herbie Hancock’s ’70s cosmic music, long-form repetitive works such as Miles Davis’s On the Corner, Charlie Parker’s “Salt Peanuts,” Tenor Sax endurance soloists, Albert Ayler’s New Grass, the legendary organ brutality of Larry Young, and the NYC Avant-Garde Rock Minimalism of Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca, Hard Vibe maintains an infectious pulse with virtuosic structural jazz improvisation.
Endgame of the Anthropocene, meanwhile, is a more explicitly political piece. Probably best to quote the press release again:
Talibam! has made a geopsychic prediction: after it expires in 2048, the Antarctic Treaty System will be rejected. As the rest of the planet will have been rendered uninhabitable due to wars rooted in overpopulation, global warming, and the relentless exploitation of diminishing resources, human interference and the failure to ratify will lead to international war over the sovereignty and control of Antarctica’s vast resources. Endgame of the Anthropocene is Talibam!’s first cinematic album of through-composed ecogothic geosonics.
The album sounds like an irreverent political cartoon; its acerbic verbage hitting the mark — but not in any self-serious way — while a characteristically (in)distinctive palette of blocky synths and drum machines inks in the illustrations with vibrant and intricate musical figures.
Check out samples from both of these soon-to-be-world-changing albums down below, and pre-order them now on the Talibam! Bandcamp. A tour of the Midwest is in the works for October, but the group has confirmed shows so far at Lido Mad Hops (Italy, August 9), the Here I Stay Festival (Italy, August 12-14), Lido San Domenico (Switzerland, August 16), and Our Wicked Lady (New York, September 8). To keep you entertained in the meantime, here’s a deep, personal secret about me…my favorite snack…is peanut butter! (Do I intrigue you???)
Hard Vibe tracklisting:
01. Infinite Hard Vibe Pt. 1
02. Infinite Hard Vibe Pt. 2
Endgame of the Anthropocene tracklisting:
01. “Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only” (Article 1)
02. Human Interference and the Failure to Ratify
03. Reign of Primordial Tenure on the Ice Shelf
04. The Telegenic Annexation of Territorial Expanse in the West
05. Obsequious Resources Duly Exploited De Novo
06. Breach of Ecology on the Seabed (Biodiversity in Shambles)
07. Cost-Effective Drilling Enabled by Pioneering Technologies and Warmer Climates in the Southern Ocean
08. RISE OF THE DEFENDERS OF ANTARCTICA
More about: Matt Nelson, Ron Strabinsky, Talibam!
