Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2
Star Stuff
Company Records
Is there such a genre as “Trippy Space Jazz”? If not, this collaboration between Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bundick and alternative jazz duo The Mattson 2 (Jonathan Mattson on drums, Jared Mattson on guitars) will do to start. Formed by a chance meeting when Jonathan needed a drum stool, the trio began jamming together, and Star Stuff is the result. Equal parts Can (on the opener “Son Moi”), lazy ’60s psych-pop with “JBS” and what sounds like a Bitches Brew outtake with “Cascade”, wherein Jared throws splats of ragged guitar ala John McLaughlin while Bundick bolsters him with synths and Fender Rhodes excursions.
This is music without a time-frame, sounding at moments as if the great pop master Esquivel decided to throw down with Pink Floyd, or if Radiohead just went pure nerd and tried playing jazz. Sun Ra did a lot of this stuff years ago, and he still sounds from another planet, a planet that Bundick and the brothers Mattson are well acquainted with. This is a great headphone disc, full of nifty production touches and deep grooves.
Star Stuff indeed. Let the boys be your guide, and remember to inhale before boarding.
