Snarky Puppy - "Culcha Vulcha" (2016) - new studio album

[Zalmoxe]

I know this band caused quite the stir amongst the members of this distinct forum, so many of you may be enchanted to find out that Snarky Puppy has just released a new studio album:

[Zalmoxe]

Oh, I see it was already announced on a different thread. Here's the first song:

[aith01]

Yeah man! Listened to a radio program on NPR Music (World Cafe) and they had some members of Snarky Puppy in the studio performing a few tracks from Culcha Vulcha. Sounded pretty nice!

[chalkpie]

The comment about getting "weirder" with the music might be a good thing, at least for me. Part of my issue with the stuff that I have heard with this group was that most of it sounded a little too straight, and I felt they didn't let their hair down completely i.e. exploring more dissonant harmonies and such. What they do, they do extremely well, but it didn't really go far enough to attract me personally. I will give this new one a listen for sure.

[BobM]

My copy just arrived, along with the new Eberhard Weber tribute album "Hommage a Eberhard Weber" and the new Haken "Affinity". No, I haven't listened to any of them yet.

[zumacraig]

I gotta get that Weber disc. Metheny has a new composition on there!

[proggy_jazzer]

Having listened to Culcha Vulcha quite a few times now, I can say I like it a lot. I can also say that I don't think it will convert anyone who has found the band too smooth or polished in their previous offerings. The compositions are interesting, the sounds and the playing are as always top-notch. My only problem with the new one is that, being a full-on studio recording, it seems to lack some of the energy that's so apparent on the albums recorded live in front of an audience. The production, while very good, is also less "alive" than the previous recordings. Actually, the production reminds me most of the albums put out by one of the SP offshoot bands, FORQ, which is a guitar/keys/bass/drums group (and very good, by the way). Not in and of itself a bad thing, but not what I was expecting/hoping for. The change may very well have to do with the unfortunate death of the person responsible for all of their previous live and studio sound production, Eric Hartman.

Having said that, I'll reiterate: I do like CV a lot, and I'm really looking forward to hearing how the material grows in live performance.

[Dana5140]

So here is my take- I like it but don't love it. It is too polished for me; these are clearly highly gifted musicians, but so much of this sounds clean and practiced- they just never get to the point where they really let go. They need to let a little chaos into their mix.

[Reid]

I gotta get that Weber disc. Metheny has a new composition on there!

At 33 minutes, it's the centerpiece of the album. As for Snarky, I've bought one CD so far, which is the collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. I didn't find the material or performances very inspired.

[yamishogun]

I swear I'm going to start a Def Leppard thread ... they are more prog than Snarky Puppy.

[Adrian]

This band was my top discovery last year by far. But the new disc hasn't resonated with me yet. I agree with some of the previous comments about how it sounds too polished -- the playing is great, but the swing of previous live albums isn't quite there.

[Baribrotzer]

As for Snarky, I've bought one CD so far, which is the collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. I didn't find the material or performances very inspired.

I remember preferring their earlier stuff. Part of their problem, I think, is that Michael League barely needs any more time to write a piece of music than he does to play it - the stuff just flows from him effortlessly. As a result, though, it tends to be rather facile, and often not the strongest music he's actually capable of. And the Snarky Puppy band are so good, they can turn a sketch into a finished, ready-to-record piece in just a few run-throughs, which exacerbates that problem - the result sounds so good and professional that its compositional slenderness isn't immediately obvious.

[Jerjo]

I've tried and tried with this band. Great musicians, some great melodies but as others have pointed out...way too smooth. Al least with the supposedly polished to a sheen Steely Dan it contrasted with the edge in Fagen's voice and the despicable characters he sang about.

[Zeuhlmate]

Its a solid funkjazz liveband but they need instrumentalist who can solo their rocks of.
Cory Henry is sitting in with them here and delivers

[aith01]

While I get why some folks won't like them because of their slickness, for people like myself who aren't as fond of "free jazz" or improv, they are very enjoyable. They won't be for everyone, and that's okay.

[Adrian]

Its a solid funkjazz liveband but they need instrumentalist who can solo their rocks of.
Cory Henry is sitting in with them here and delivers

Cory Henry's solo in that piece blows me away. For me, it doesn't get any better than this with Snarky Puppy.

[chalkpie]

Cory Henry's solo in that piece blows me away. For me, it doesn't get any better than this with Snarky Puppy.

Sounds like Tommy Mars actually!

[BobM]

Their "live" albums do have a certain energy that is very enjoyable, but the sound quality is a bit lacking. That's understandable after all, especially since they have 30+ microphones around to capture all the sound. Something's gotta give.

The new album definitely has better sound quality, but you are right, it's like it is over practiced and produced. The melodies are what you would expect of them but I would be happy to wait longer between albums for a bit more compositional complexity. The formula they have been using still works but it is becoming very recognizable.

[Zeuhlmate]

Cory Henry's solo in that piece blows me away. For me, it doesn't get any better than this with Snarky Puppy.

The 'problem' is that he is not in the band. They need improvising shredders ...

[AdventAlan]

As for Snarky, I've bought one CD so far, which is the collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. I didn't find the material or performances very inspired.

I didn't really care for this one either. For me, groundUP and We Like It Here are much better albums, both in terms of material and production. You may want to give these a try (or at least check out some of the corresponding live clips on YouTube).

Cheers,


Alan

[proggy_jazzer]

The 'problem' is that he is not in the band. They need improvising shredders ...

I find the quality of the soloing in the band to be quite high, especially from guitars, keyboards, and drums. League, Henry, Shaun Martin, Bill Laurence, Justin Stanton (IMO the MVP of the band) and all three guitarists are top-flight. The horn players do less for me, although I do like Mike Maher's trumpet/flugel sound quite a bit. The improvisations are well thought-out and make excellent use of shape, timbre and space. If you're just looking for "shredding", as in more notes per measure, then you and I look for different things.

[Zeuhlmate]

Nah - I think Scofield would have been just lovely

[proggy_jazzer]

Nah - I think Scofield would have been just lovely

Love me some Sco! And come to think of it, the A Go Go band shares a lot of common ground with SP!

[Reid]

I didn't really care for this one either. For me, groundUP and We Like It Here are much better albums, both in terms of material and production. You may want to give these a try (or at least check out some of the corresponding live clips on YouTube).

Cheers,


Alan

I like the video of Lingus. But for the most part, their music doesn't really get below the surface, emotionally speaking.

[BobM]

I think I've figured out what's wrong with this new album. The drums and percussion are incredibly toned down. It's like they've taken a page from smooth jazz, telling them to keep the groove but don't do anything interesting. Their live albums, on the other hand are full of percussive energy, propelling the band forward and inspiring the soloists to push the limits. Not so here.