The Comet Is Coming

One Liner: Freaky jazz instrumentals.  

Wikipedia Genre: Nu jazz, funk rock, psychedelic rock, electronic rock, space rock
Home: London

Poster Position: 16

Both Weekends.

Thoughts: I'm a big fan of the fact that Wikipedia calls this "space rock."  I think I would have gone with "space jazz."  if you listen to "Because the End is Really the Beginning," you can imagine weird alien dudes preparing to fight other weird alien dudes in a ninja-meets-Michael-Jackson-Bad style battle.  This stuff is weird, atmospheric, psychedelic, funky, freaky business.

They hail from London, and each one uses a strange nickname - "King Shabaka" (saxophone), "Danalogue the Conqueror," (keyboards) and "Betamax" (drummer).  The King says their name came from: "a BBC Radiophonic Workshop piece of the same name. Once we heard this piece, with its allusions to sci-fi, cosmic remembrances and general space, it instantly struck a chord. We're exploring new sound worlds and aiming to destroy all musical ideals which are unfit for our purposes so the name stuck.'' Yep, "destroy all musical ideals which are unfit for our purposes."  Totally something a normal person would say.

The top track in their arsenal is "Summon the Fire," a freaky jazz psych thing that I'm not sure I can adequately explain.  I'll let the music do the talking.  Just under one million streams.

There is a section in that song (right at 1:58) where the bass absolutely steals directly from an old Primus song (I think it is their cover of "Making Plans for Nigel"), and I'm into it.  How to explain this music in words - fuzzed-out saxophone over a throbbing bassline slathered in atmospheric synth wash, like I'd imagine it would feel to drop acid and then watch the intro to the Cosby Show on a loop until you lose your mind.  Actually, that sounds fun.

That one comes from their 2019 album Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery.  They have one other album, 2016's Channel the Spirits.  The top track on that one is "Space Carnival," with 579k streams.

Trippy video, yo - and the song is more of a freakout quasi-EDM track with saxophone.  These guys and Griz should tear the roof off a stage!  I feel exhausted after having survived that track.  Big Sax Energy!  A lot of these tunes are freaking intense!  In fact, it kind of gives me a headache after a while - "Birth of Creation" from the new album has this throbbing bassline that whumps its way into the brain, as some clarinet-ass sound is trying to groove along, and I need a break.

There is one beat poet-sounding track with some words used, but otherwise this is instrumental freakout stuff.  it's kind of neato in a - what the hell is that? - kind of way, but I doubt I'd actually go watch it live.