Sometimes you stumble upon a band, and you don’t really know where the initial spark began. You don’t remember how you found the band in the first place, but that is all trivial. What does matter is what you get out of a band.
In the case of Bojack, when I stumbled upon the band’s music, it came out of the blue but in a nice sort of way. It was not a startling alarm; instead, it was something almost familiar and charged with dejavu - not a bad thing, either. I am familiar with some other jazz bands based in London, so it seemed only natural that I would enjoy the music of another set of jazz musicians.
Here Me Now is in multiple ways like a debut EP for the band: while it goes under the description of “the first installment of tracks from the back catalogue of Bojack jam sessions late 2020”, it is their debut. The first - the very beginning moment where you first come across new music and you think, “What does this sound like?” Oftentimes, you just don’t know, but when you do know - when the Good music hits you, that’s when you know. And you certainly do know when it is one of those times.
I was absolutely fascinated by this EP for a number of reasons: the sound of the music sounds effortlessly fantastic. Obviously, this comes from hours and years of practice, but the solos and improvisations come off as very natural and comfortable. The way that the tracks fuse into the next makes this a seamless listen, and it makes me wonder how you could listen to this album out of order or just one track at a time. There are albums that I have listened to that once you listen to it as a whole, there is no turning back; there is simply no other way to listen to the Music. These “sketches from a bygone lockdown era” as the description puts it are at their surface level easy to listen to. There is just a strong pleasant emotion evoked from the sound; it’s just magical especially in the raw state of the tracks. On the third track “Pili Pili”, there is even a bit of band chatter before the music starts. Altogether, it forms just a slice of the Bojack magic.
Something that stood out to me even from the first listen was the connectedness that you can hear on the tracks. Sometimes you hear a band’s music and it sounds good, but does it feel good? Does it feel that the musicians are not only in tune musically but in tune with each other in the sense that they are connected - that they understand one another and there is a connection there brought forth by the music?
All these things are present in Bojack’s music. The saxophone solo by Isaac Robertson on the opening track of “Superspreader” is such a great part of the song. I believe it stands out partly due to the strong foundation of the rhythm section where bassist Indigo Pearce and drummer Ben Grose keep it steady. Guitarist Omar Hirani and keyboardist Jack Elliot Barton glue it all together, ensuring that the melodies are connected and supporting one another in a frenzy of music that has such a relaxed feel to it at the same time. The streams of sound travel around your head, weaving different paths and melodies that are free to wander, much like the surreal imagery displayed within the cover art.
Yes, the songs are short and more little jams than fully fleshed-out tracks, but I like what I hear. This is just a teaser of what Bojack can come up with, but already within what you hear, there are shining bits of stardust that soar from their sound. What I get out of Bojack’s sound is a confirmed expectation of great little jazz jams that flicker through in shades of wonder. What is next for the band, I do not know. What I do know revolves around the now, and that is the sound of Bojack’s Here Me Now as it spins dazzling bursts of melody-lines and encourages a sense of fascination that will only grow more from the initial spark that began it all.
Credits
Sax, Flute: Isaac Robertson
Drums: Ben Grose
Guitar: Omar Hirani
Keys: Jack Elliot Barton
Bass: Indigo Pearce
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Recorded at Goldsmiths Music Studios
Mixed & Mastered by KAŚKA
Artwork by Primal Gloss
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