Mendoza Hoff Revels - Echolocation CD
SKU
28-AUMF 117.2
Ava Mendoza: electric guitar, compositions
Devin Hoff: electric bass, compositions
James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone
Ches Smith: drums
This is some serious, hard edged electric jazz/rock from four great players who are tearing it up RIGHT NOW.
The label calls it ‘21st Century progressive rock played by punk rockers with serious improv skills and a deep jazz feel. And vitally – non-stop wicked catchy tunes, riffs & grooves.’; I can live with that! Hopefully this is only the first of more to come!
“'Echolocation' is the astonishing debut album from Mendoza Hoff Revels, a formidable new unit led by Ava Mendoza & Devin Hoff and featuring James Brandon Lewis & Ches Smith.
While Mendoza and Hoff have floated around each other's musical orbits for decades, and have been friends for some time, this is their first work together on record. It is an electric & holy harmonic fusion of highly estimable musical forces; wholly rendered. The original impetus of this group was Mendoza’s, based on the love she and Hoff shared for aggressive and polyglot electric avant-garde ensembles – artists like mid-80's Black Flag (w/ Roessler & Stevenson) and Ornette Coleman's Prime Time bands revolutionized the way they heard music. As stated in their liner notes, "we shared the writing of these pieces, though without the sizable stamps of both James and Ches, they would sound nothing like they do here.”
Strong sonic references on our initial hearing at AUM Fidelity were The Stooges’ Funhouse, rendered by an entire band readily adept at rapidly swinging rhythmic & harmonic shifts (plus tenor sax on every track!) -&- minutemen, both their entire body of music & their fundamental egalitarian punk ethos. A higher combo accolade to any "rock-adjacent" band playing with electricity we at AUM cannot bestow.”
- LabelAum Fidelity
- UPC642623311721