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Reviews > CDs

Published: 2013/01/16

by Wayan Zoey

Snarky Puppy: Ground UP

Ropeadope

Snarky Puppy is already a household name in musicians’ circles, yet another great product of the University of North Texas’s lauded jazz program. Featuring a cast of more than 20 stellar musicians revolving around a core of drummer Robert Spurlight, keyboardist Shaun Martin and bassist Michael League, they create jumped-up intricate jazz over a razor-sharp rhythm section. Recorded in front of a live audience over 3 days in Brooklyn at Matt Garrison’s Shapeshifter Labs, Ground UP is a testament to musical consistency. Fans of the band won’t find anything groundbreaking in this eight-song collection, though the band continues to expand their already-wide palette of sounds with an increased presence of distorted guitars, but newcomers to the band will find a solid group of performers masking the advanced nature of their compositions in the ease with which they execute them. Standouts include heavy rocker “Thing Of Gold” and the upbeat funk of opener “Bent Nails.”

Comments

There are 2 comments associated with this post

Josh January 18, 2013, 11:11:33

Why is this “review” just being published now? This album has been out for months…not to mention this barely reviews any thing at all. Great band. Great album. Garbage review.

Jai February 6, 2013, 09:24:19

I agree with Josh, there’s very little here you couldn’t find out on Snarky Puppy’s website. This is a phenominal peice of work that deserves more than the treatment you gave it. I’m not sure why you bothered at all—pretty sad.

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