Making up one half of Knower with the singer Genevieve Artadi, drummer and keyboardist Louis Cole unleashes novelties with a speed comparable to the frenzy of his playing style.
For his online followers he posts videos that are equal parts brilliant and eccentric, while 3 of the 9 titles from his EP Live Sesh and Xtra Songs are not new discoveries: they capture his band’s live performances whilst crammed into a Los Angeles villa. A special mention goes to “Thinking,” a piece transcended by a saxophone solo by Ben Wendel, who escaped from Kneebody like the drummer Nate Wood. On stage the periphery members of Knower, Jacob Mann (keyboards) and Sam Wilkes (bass), are never far away. Louis Cole now stands as an axis point around which virtuosos gravitate, catapulting jazz to the edges of funk and electronic spheres, without hindering musicians’ imagination. It’s something demonstrated on “They Find You,” a blues-accented pop track that is opened and closed by violins. Following on, we get “Gimme a Hug,” a track worthy of Zappa, then “PMS Meltdown,” which is articulated like chamber music. The veritable bazaar of “V” is the main curiosity however, unrolling itself along the banks of psychedelic rock. We’ve missed this.
Louis Cole – Live Sesh and Xtra Songs (Ninja Tune)
