BADBADNOTGOOD -- Talk Memory: Review

BADBADNOTGOOD -- Talk Memory

[XL Recordings]

I’ve always fallen back on BADBADNOTGOOD to be one of the fiery young acts in jazz fusion that took up the torch from Chick Corea’s and Mahavishnu’s of the seventies and refueled it with an exciting mix of R&B and hip hop aesthetics. In a genre that is almost comically labeled as tired, BADBADNOTGOOD has been a breath of fresh air and a promise that jazz fusion can be retooled to strike you with the same vibrancy it did back at its inception. That being said, I’m sad to report that Talk Memory misses the mark.

What Talk Memory lacks more than anything is a distinct voice. BADBADNOTGOOD puts all their bets on this one orchestral new-bop type tone and spreads it thin for almost thirty minutes. This is no more clear than in the album’s deep cuts like “Timid, Intimidating” or “Unfolding (Momentum 73)”, song titles that seem like they should be more interesting than they actually are. The melodies are cinematic, but across several songs, they feel cliched, like if you fed all the BADBADNOTGOOD albums into a computer and asked it to spit out a soundtrack.

I wanna give this album props for its brighter moments. My favorite song and the album’s lead single “Beside April” is certainly the most interesting track here. It features the album’s cleanest production and most memorable melody, making for the album’s finest combination of prog, folk jazz, and hip hop. The opener “Signal From The Noise” is a colossal scene setter and features guest production from EDM producer Floating Points who helps make this song all-encompassing and delicious.

It’s important to note the album’s biggest influence and collaborator is the legendary Arthur Verocai, whose string arrangements appear on half of the tracklist. The Brazilian composer has always been a huge influence on BBNG so I’m glad they finally got to work together--I just wished it was more interesting than this.

Talk Memory sounds like one cool sound that was stretched to an album’s length. The band clearly has a hold of this sound--how to mix it, how to produce it, who to feature, how to compose it--but they get too lost in their love for it, they forget to deliver their signature novelty that has made their albums some of the most fun jazz records of the 2010’s. IV and III are still two of my greatest sources of joy when it comes to modern jazz fusion, and it makes sense why I keep listening to this new one over and over, hoping that I’ll strike gold and finally get it, but after ten listens or so, I’m not sure there’s much to get.

4.6/10.