To hear bop snobs tell it, all avant-garde jazz is nothing but atonal screaming and unmusical, amelodic self-indulgence. But in reality, music loosely defined as avant-garde jazz comes in many different shapes and sizes. There is nothing wrong with atonal free jazz -- the blistering, downright ferocious Charles Gayle is truly great at what he does -- but not all avant-garde jazz is that extreme. Maroon's second album, Who the Sky Betrays, for example, is relatively accessible. Blending jazz, rock, and R&B, this mildly avant-garde release is far from unmusical; while the New York residents can be intellectual and abstract, they also have a strong sense of melody and are not afraid to groove. The groove factor is quite strong on adventurous, risk-taking items like "When the Storm Comes," "Is This the Time?," and the political "Bully on the Block," all of which show how captivating a vocalist Hillary Maroon can be. The latter sharply criticizes the George W. Bush administration's foreign policy in the Middle East; some will agree with the song's assertions, while others will disagree. Either way, political propaganda -- be it Gil Scott-Heron on the left or Merle Haggard on the right -- has its place in music as long as its well done, and "Bully on the Block" is definitely well done. While the original material on Who the Sky Betrays is excellent, one of the major reasons to acquire this CD is the group's interpretations of familiar rock songs; Radiohead's "The Tourist," Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," the Pretenders' "Show Me," and John Lennon's "Isolation" all receive the jazz treatment on Who the Sky Betrays -- and the group has no problem demonstrating that these songs can, in fact, be relevant to avant-garde jazz-rock. Anyone seeking something fresh and challenging from improvisational music is advised to give Who the Sky Betrays a close listen.
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