40 Thieves
The Sky Is Yours
Leng Records
They say funk in the press release, but they sound down-tempo house on the turntable. At least that’s my take after two tracks, “The Sky is Yours” and “List of Two.” 40 Thieves brags about their eclectic tastes, and I have to grant them a wide swath of styles and the sensibility to arrange them in a pleasing sequence free of prog rock jarring transitions.
“Rhythm Queen” features a female vocal and a funky jazz line; it sounds like Caro Emerald without the attitude and slides right into “JP Soul” which sounds like the sex scene backing in a 1975 Blaxploitation action thriller. After an early rap influenced interlude, we stumble into “Face Full of Fur.” It begins with a cold howling wind and threaten to explode into a free from heavy metal jazz experiment but instead we find ourselves grooving to another stoned out dance number. There’s about two hours of material here, and I can say it never gets boring or old. 40 Thieves is a versatile group with lots of interesting friends and a DJ’s ear for keeping the floor alive. Nice work for a collective, I thought they all went out of business when Reagan was sworn in. I’m glad they’re coming back in style.
