James Holden and The Animal Spirits - The Animal Spirits

James Holden and The Animal Spirits
The Animal Spirits
2017
Spotify

Alright so things are about to get a bit confusing. James Holden is an electronic artist mostly know for progressive techno and house with his most recent album blending in jazz elements. That is why this record in particular is so different and so new for him as it abandons those ideas almost completely for this ethereal analogue sound. The first track opens with booming brass capturing a sound that feels so wholly natural as it falls into "Spinning Dance" which is this natural sounding dance track that is in word is overwhelming. With the intro, and the background leading to this record you expect it to sound confused, far to experimental to be any good, but that simply is not the case. I honestly never thought I would be into a song with pan flute but James Holden makes that a reality and does it with such ease. He paints these really complex pictures with his music and while soundscapes can often feel heavy He manages to give it this total lightness. It is not all natural sounding however with tracks like "Pass Through The Fire" beginning with this really innocuous keyboard intro only to shift into a much more complex synth sounding situation. The constant drums, real drums, ground everything in reality allowing the more jubilant moments to shine through. It is quite incredible how complex these arrangment can get and still stay accessible. So much sound, from so many different places, comes at you all at once yet it never becomes too much until just the end when it's ready to drop out.

This all more incredible when you learn that Holden recorded this all live, no overdubs, no edits hence the inclusion of the band The Animal Spirits. If you weren't told this fact however there is almost no chance you would notice it on your own. Holden was trying to improve lives sets and this idea was born and boy oh boy is it a good one. The songs range in length never really giving you a solid sense of where you are in the album. You can look up and only a song and a half have passed or you might almost be done, it all feels very relative. The real genius of this record is no matter how complex it gets, and it gets complex AF sometimes, melody is always at the heart of it all. You have to be fully ready for the Astral Jazz deep dive if you are going to go into this record and may need to wade through some stuff in order to get to the best parts. "Thunder Moon Gathering" is one of the tracks that almost gets lost in itself and becomes to Jazzy with the improvisation. The Animal Spirits however is a real accomplishment and a new look at perhaps what electronic music can be in the live sense. Do not miss this one if you're ready to fall into the void.

8.5 out of 10