Perhaps the biggest challenge collaborative bands face is spontaneously creating music without sounding discordant. The trio of percussionist Billy Martin, keyboardist Matt Glassmeyer, and guitarist Jonathan Goldberger overcomes this with elegant ease. Their release State Fête is a captivating, multilayered work that puts sublime camaraderie front and center. Anticipating one another and interweaving their independent instrumental voices, the three artists paint seven cinematic soundscapes that are both vibrant and ethereal.
For instance, “Anemone” opens with sparse chiming and tolling notes, setting a somber mood. Godlberger’s blistering and angular chords bounce off Glassmeyer’s expectant refrains and Martin’s darkly resonant beats for a dramatic effect. Slowly, the delightful, dissonant repartee coalesces into a moving, melodic group improvisation. The ambience remains tense as Goldberger’s eloquent phrases punctuate the otherworldly backdrop created by Glassmeyer and Martin. The pulsating piece, with its percolating percussion and mesmerizing vamps, hints at Eastern Zen quietude.
This type of mysticism permeates the entire album regardless of the motif. “Queen Substance,” for instance, has more of an Afrocuban cadence with a futurist vibe. Groaning reverberations and rustling shakers buoy the sparse guitar tones. Goldberger then launches into a bluesy melody while Glassmeyer responds with wistful musings, playing his own invention: a reedless saxophone that sounds like a melodica. The meditative dialogue is taut and energetic, with Martin propelling the tune forward with his thundering polyrhythms.
Elsewhere, “Jan Hooks” opens with a Levantine theme, with Glassmeyer’s plaintive lines blending with Goldberger’s simmering strums, creating a lyrical melody. Martin’s alternating sharp, crisp thrums and the sonorous thumps give the track its Middle Eastern rhythm. Glaassmeyer continues to coax out of his reedless saxophone a warm and languid solo. As the performance evolves, it becomes more like a serene nocturne, further enhancing its poetic feel.
State Fête is a brilliant record, both stimulating and emotive. It deftly blends various influences into a dynamic and engaging album that showcases not only the individual musician’s originality but also the ensemble inventiveness of this seamless partnership.
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