Jan 31 2020
Best of 2019 #18: Laughing Bastards – “Unanimal”
There’s a pretty big statement made when you drop your own original compositions into the mix with those of Carla Bley and John Lurie, and they fall in with the crowd like family. The quintet Laughing Bastards clearly subscribe to the idea of strange and beautiful music, and hold the sentiment that collisions of melodic ideas are the best kind of dissonance. There’s a curious allure to these pieces by the Belgium-based ensemble, an attraction that isn’t immediately attributable to one particular quality or characteristic. But then, and quite suddenly, one of those jumbled melodic concepts become a concrete vision, and it’s as gorgeous a spectacle to behold as gold sunlight breaking through the deepest clouds of grey. I have no idea how this album flew under the radar of so many, but it’s a shame that it did, because it’s one of the most beautiful things to hit the shelves in 2019.
Your album personnel: Michel Mast (tenor sax), Jan-Sebastiaan Degeyter (guitar), Anneleen Boehme (double bass), Marcos della Rocha (drums), and Eline Duerinck (cello).
The album is Self-Produced, and released as Ham Records.
Music from Ghent, Belgium.
Listen | Read more | Available at: Amazon
Paul Squassoni
February 3, 2020 @ 3:29 pm
Thanks for this! Your description was spot on. Talk about under the radar… I became the 26th person to listen to their album on Youtube. I loved their musical sensibility and purchased it instantly. It’s a real find, so thank you, Dave, for your passionate explorations of music!
– Paul
davesumner
February 3, 2020 @ 10:38 pm
Totally my pleasure, Paul. In fact, a post like yours is exactly why I do this. And it really is under the radar, isn’t it? Not sure how, but somehow it ended up there. I’m gonna do my About 2019 post-countdown column series (as I do every year), and one of those columns will talk about my favorite albums of the year… some which made the Best Of list, and some that didn’t. “Unanimal” might get mention as my Favorite of 2019.
Cheers,
Dave
MICHEL MAST
March 3, 2020 @ 11:29 am
thanks Dave !
I’m Michel Mast, co-leader of “Laughing Bastards”
I’m not sure how this album ended up in your mail ..
Maybe Dave Lynch sent it to you ?
Anyway , it’s a beautiful review.
Curious to hear if Unanimal will get the mention …
All the best.