Prepare to be amazed. This is not what you expect to come out of New Jersey. Four years in the making, the project is the brainwave of Alex J. Weinstein and both he and Kevin Sasko add a host of musicians to offer up one of the albums of the year.
I'd love to know what is going on in Weinstein's head, because as well as being inspired, the album takes incredible twists and turns. The arrangements are astounding, particularly the added strings. It is a piece of work that moves around both the straight ahead and the bizarre.
I suppose you might call it Art Rock, but that is a loose description. At times, there is a feel of early Roxy Music, yet you are just as likely to hear Ragtime and Americana. The latter courtesy of a magnificent vocal from Louise Sullivan that is haunting and the Acoustic Arrangement is beautifully melancholic.
The 17 songs are across three different sections. The second section, In The Courtyard, is more instrumental and arranged and performed with a great deftness. The first section, On The Air, underlines the Art Rock, but Martinique sounds like something European.
You can hear Tori Adore opening up this week's Listening To This Week and this starts off the last section, All In Time. It is a rockier affair than what else is on show. Minutes Still is like Saint Etienne without the synths, wonderfully hypnotic, wonderfully arranged.
Full Regalia is almost a troubadour sort of confessional. I've deliberately not gone into great detail about the songs. This is an album to be listened to from start to finish. The gentleness will move you, the instrumental part will hook you and the break out parts are weird and wacky, just as we like.
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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Boy this is impressive. You can really dive into the arrangements and be impressed.
ReplyDeleteThis album sizzles! I hear inflections of Roxy Music mixed with ephemeral, otherworldly tones and at times a folk influence straight from an Emmylou Harris album. "Lions in Harlem" is incredible and lush. Overall, it's peaceful, a relaxing tonic for the soul, yet it is never boring or dull.
ReplyDeleteI love that Courtyard / Piertime Rag mixes a clarinet with an upright piano and then segues effortlessly into a modern take on ragtime. For a surprise, one track's piano seems to have been recorded underwater for a ghostly effect. It all works and works quite well.
I'm happy to have found this group. They'll be in heavy rotation for the coming fall months as their sound will warm the heart. All I'll need to complete their sonic journey is a cup of hot chocolate, a glass of vintage wine, legal smooth weed, or a smooth bourbon sour in that perfect glass that fits the hand like a well worn glove. Yeah, Jupiter Radio Theater has that complete ability of mood control and not a bad thought will enter my mind when I'm under their influence.