It’s not every day that an emerging jazz-funk-rock band puts out a debut that sounds like the soundtrack to the ultimate neo-’70s, horror B-movie set in New Orleans, with Godzilla laying waste to the Big Easy as the populace cheers it on. But Afroskull is not your average jazz-funk-rock band.
Several leading instrumental “jam” bands, such as Galactic, have started leaning towards a more aggressive, guitar-heavy sound, but Afroskull takes that concept and cranks it up past 11. Built around funky riffs with plenty of bite, the nine original songs on Monster sound like Black Sabbath put through a Groove Collective strainer. Guitars scream beside burning horn solos, greasy keyboards percolate beneath a hard-hitting drum-percussion mix reminiscent of ’70s fusion. Best of all, thick brass textures emanate from a virtual army of local guest horn players, who alternate between colorful riffing and explosive chaos. Live audiences might not know whether to “head-bang” or “hippie-dance,” which could lead to serious injuries.
Despite the heavy approach, Afroskull keeps it improvisational; these songs stretch out—hard. The best example is probably “The Obstacle Course,” featuring a huge (dare I say “monster?”) Clarence Johnson tenor sax solo that writhes magnificently as eight other horns collectively wail. Only New Orleans could germinate such dynamic horn charts to coexist with an ear-bleeding rock aesthetic.
It no doubt takes skill and balls to produce a debut that revels in its own engorged extremity so eloquently, but Afroskull scores extra points by taking the Godzilla motif to the hilt—from the artwork depicting the angry green giant spewing fire at the Superdome to the clever sound effects and radio/TV news reports interspersed throughout evoking “War of the Worlds.” In fact, Orson Welles would probably love this record, except for the part at the end when the crowd starts to cheer on the monster’s destructive rampage like a sporting event. That might seem absurd to dear old Orson.
Vocals are the record’s only low-key aspect, featured solely on “Curiosity,” but give these guys enough time and money and they’d probably add four or five wailing divas, maybe an entire chorus. And why not throw in a turntable DJ while they’re at it? They could become the ultimate funk-rock orchestra, ready to tear the roof off the New Orleans Arena. As it stands, Afroskull has added gunpowder to the “jam” formula and lit the fuse.
