Best of 2019 #62: Led Bib – “It’s Morning”

There’s always been something seriously appealing about the raucous electronics jazz of Led Bib.  Some of it has to do with how their exuberance transmits an abounding sense of fun, a quality that increases the more over-the-top their music becomes.  There’s also the aspect of their music that extracts a cerebral reaction, in how the chaos of a particular piece exhibits a sturdy melodicism, not unlike an unsinkable ship in the middle of a malleable hurricane.  But it’s the addition of vocalist Sharron Fortnam to this session that elevates their latest recording up to a whole new plateau.  It was never apparent that a vocalist would ever mesh with this outfit, and yet the way it all shakes out, a vocalist in the fold was the most natural, logical decision ever.  That the music goes through this transformative effect while retaining all of the things that make the music so enjoyable to begin with was no easy task, and its achievement is a trait that makes It’s Morning one of the best recordings of 2019.

Your album personnel:  Sharron Fortnam (vocals), Chris Williams (alto sax), Pete Grogan (alto and tenor saxophones), Elliot Galvin (keyboards, piano), Liran Donin (bass, backing vocals), Mark Holub (drums), and guests:  Jack Hues (vocals), Susanna Gartmayer (bass clarinet), Irene Kepl (violin) and Noid (cello).

Released on RareNoise Records.

Music from London, UK.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at: Bandcamp – Amazon