GODTET - |||

Label: La Sape Released: December 2020

I would describe |||, the 3rd album from Australia's GODTET as Electrosonic Jazz that is part composition, part improvisation. It's like a meticulously orchestrated dream soundtrack, that was recorded completely live with no overdubbing.

Space themes feature heavily, and waves of Bruce Haack, Joe Meek, Stereolab and even the more psychedelic work of Brian Wilson can be heard in the 60's Organs and tape delay manipulation. Electric bass lines, courtesy of Jan Bangma merge with deep synth. Drummer Tully Ryan provides techy garage groove patterns aside weird background howling lines, peppered with radiophonic stutters.

After a fairly explosive first 2 tracks, the album settles. The drums at times remain insistent and unashamed, but the mix courtesy of Jack Prest keeps them from getting a big head.

This is a breathing album and as it sighs out, simple piano melodies rest against backdrops of elegant and dainty guitar manipulation, tasteful dub bass and space echo. The guitar work is un pretentious, despite the growing legacy of its composer 'Godriguez' who is easily one of the most unsung producers of recent years, but someone who seems to avoid the narcissism of the industry. The final track deviates from all categorisation, a perfect end to an album. It feels part improvised, and vaguely reminds me of Talk Talk’s - Laughing Stock, but with a somewhat different bass line vision. There are also some similarities in the bashfully effective use of percussion from Dominic Kirk.

I mentioned at the beginning that this was Electrosonic Jazz. What qualifies it to claim the much coveted but often carelessly applied title of Jazz, are the sublime injections of piano from Andrew Bruce, that come whenever you think you have drifted a little too far out into space, reminding you that the world too, is beautiful.