Prog

Heads Up

Fashion a flipbook out of pages from your older brother’s scrapbook—album covers from the ‘70s, toy instruments, inside jokes—and the insistent whirr of pages thumping along would sound a little like power-piano trio, The Bad Plus’ fifth album, Prog—and not just because of the Rush and Bowie covers. And as they return to the more open-minded world of indie labeldom, there’s a more mischievous vibe at work here. The first sign things are a little darker comes when pianist Ethan Iverson bends a few key notes in the first chorus of the band’s take on “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” Bassist Reid Anderson toys with convention, too, trading in his usual womblike basslines and soft crescendos for the most addictive rock song the trio has ever recorded. “Physical Cities” propels itself onward using the “Iron Man”-like weight of its own rhythm, leading to one of many frenetic and stormy climaxes. A few rays of melodic sun peek through as well, like in the loping “Thriftstore Jewelry.” And the oeuvre ends on an up note, with the triumphant return of the group’s 2004 album, Give’s “1972 Bronze Medalist” character, who finally wins the “1980 World Championship” in an amped-up finale that nods to some nostalgia TBP created all by themselves.

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