Album Review // Alex McLaughlin // A Brand New State

Self-released

4.5/5 stars

The album A Brand New State fittingly opens with an unaccompanied double bass melody. The bandleader, and album's composer, Alex McLaughlin uses his instrument to rightfully lay claim to the 49 minutes that follow. As the whole band fills in the repeated harmonic minor motif, the record begins to settle in wonderfully. Knowing McLaughlin, the album name is fitting, with the Erie native and Mercyhurst alum having recently moved to Idyllwild, California (where he now serves as the jazz program director at the Idyllwild Arts Academy). In Los Angeles, he was joined by pianist Jeremy Siskind, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, and drummer Tina Raymond. What might be my favorite track, "Trailhead" recalls a Wayne Shorter or Joe Henderson cut: dark, dense, and unforgiving. The modal exploration of "Signals," is next, giving perhaps the best solo sections from both Siskind and Pelt. The hypnotic drums of "The Solar Punks" showcases Raymond exquisitely. There's the understated delicacy of "Lily" which creates an almost cinematic air of mystery. That's followed by the head-bobbing groove "El Polvo" with its ascending and descending piano solo. Penultimately, there's a laid-back nonchalant tone of "Trial" that would be perfectly at home in a French new wave film. The frenetic effervescence of "Elevation" seems to have every note and rhythm bouncing around a tight room, building, and eventually leaving us exactly where we began, with McLaughlin's bass.