The first
Garage A Trois album to feature the original lineup since 2005, 2021's
Calm Down Cologne finds guitarist
Charlie Hunter, saxophonist/keyboardist
Skerik, and drummer
Stanton Moore conjuring the kinetic, psychedelic funk-jazz of their early work. Since coming together in 1999,
Garage A Trois have built a distinctive oeuvre, smashing together harmonically adventurous jazz improvisation, hard-driving funk grooves, and explosive sci-fi soundscapes. However, following 2005's Outre Mer,
Hunter stepped away from the group, with keyboardist
Marco Benevento and percussionist
Mike Dillon taking his place. While that version of
Garage A Trois was equally distinctive, it was easy to miss the edgy, fuzz-tone electric guitar bite that
Hunter brought to their sound. Thankfully, the original lineup reunited in 2019, rekindling their fiery funk energy with a handful of live shows. Hoping to capture that energy on tape, they entered
Pearl Jam guitarist
Stone Gossard's Studio Litho in Seattle, where they recorded live in one day with engineer
Randall Dunn. Consequently, there's a stripped-down quality to the trio's work on
Calm Down Cologne. It's one that's built from the ground up as the New Orleans-bred
Moore pushes his bandmates with colossal, tree-trunk beats. The album opens in hyper-drive fashion with "No Zone," a nervy anthem marked by a neck-cracking
James Brown rhythm, a buggy, radar guitar riff, and an acidic, dual sax and keyboard melody. At the center of the record is the boogaloo-infused title track, a bright, frenetic club song that brings to mind the volcanic avant-funk of artists like guitarist
Sonny Sharrock and saxophonist
Eddie Harris. Equally evocative moments crop up elsewhere, as on "The Epic" and the bluesy, Sanford and Son theme-sounding "In-A-Pro-Pro," in which
Skerik's eerie sax and
Hunter's wah-wah guitar bring to mind the avant-garde '70s space jazz of
Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band. The album ends in chilled-out style with the woozy, gothic hippie slow jam "Numinous."
Calm Down Cologne is a propulsive, textural, ear-grabbing experience. ~ Matt Collar