New Monsoon: New Monsoon Live

By: Dennis Cook

There's a fundamental whomp to New Monsoon that's only grown stronger with each passing year, which has seen them grow leaner and denser in appealing ways as they've fully delved into the possibilities of the band's quintet configuration – a bit of musical geometry that suits them to a tee. There's all kinds of shorthand one can use to describe them – a rocked up electric jazz band, a world-wide modern ensemble with balls, etc. – but in the end their assemblage of details, full of seemingly disparate, un-reconcilable elements, gives equal weight to songs and instrumentals. And just because the other kids don't mix 'n' match like them doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. Quite the opposite, as evidenced by New Monsoon Live (New Monsoon Records), whose simple title neatly encapsulates the alive feel of this double disc set.

Culled from several very "on" nights in Texas, Live takes no time to dive into the deep end with as fine a version of "The Other Side" as they've ever played, with Bo Carper (banjo, acoustic guitar) singing in strong, clear tones and a wicked electric guitar flair-up near the end from one of the under-sung six-string maestros on the scene, Jeff Miller. The thick fog of the opener dissipates on the sunny "Naked Truth," where their philosophical pondering is anchored to Phil Ferlino's lilting keys and the tough, uncompromising low end of Sean Hutchinson (drums) and Marshall Harrell (bass). Even the lighter fare on Live is handled with a seriousness and intensity that keeps one tuned in – always a challenge when attempting to impart the live experience in the frozen grooves of a posthumous release. The bright colors and impactful shading throughout this collection makes for exciting music, and the sequencing keeps things interesting and engaging even though few tracks are under six minutes. New Monsoon fills space beautifully, moving with purpose and skirting the booby trap of noodling for noodling's sake. They're primo musicians so they could just riff and wander but there's a real focus on quality material and a palpable dedication to carrying each piece off with intelligent flair, like the epic storytelling of "Alaska" or the honeyed funk of "Greenhouse" here.

In some ways Live works as A Young Person's Guide To New Monsoon, bringing listeners up to speed on the NM story so far and offering a handy encapsulation of much of their core catalog. I've long said this band plays with a massive force, a sound fit for large spaces and big, starry skies but Live also shows how they've tooled their schema for clubs, too, with many numbers gaining bite and pummel that works well when the walls are close and the audience is sweating mere feet away. More than anything else, this is certainly New Monsoon's most swinging official live album yet, as sturdy an offering as one could hope for from this band outside of experiencing this music directly at their heel.