A going concern since 2006, and releasing their debut album Rainbro in 2010, Inner Ear Brigade hail from Oakland, USA and are releasing on 20th November their third full-length work, Perkunas, which can at the outset of this review be best described as a jazzy, experimental delight, with multiple worldwide influences within. Joining founder and composer Bill Wolter is a veritable crowd of eager and talented musicians, and you can view them and order this work at their Bandcamp page https://innerearbrigade.bandcamp.com/album/perkunas and there will be a release via Geomancy Records.

So, we have seven pieces of music to discuss on this review.

The opener is Ecobio Curves, which has been released in advance on Bandcamp, and is embedded below for you to get a decent flavour of what to expect from the work as a whole. It is groove laden, with some densely complex work, the lyrics expressed in Kobaïan, the language invented back in the day by giants of the experimental form, Magma, and it references the eternal nature of the soul. The finale is especially rousing.

Sumimasen follows, and this is translated as “I’m sorry” from the Japanese, and the piece strikes me as being a gentle satire on the rigidity of that society. As it develops, there is a playful sense to the words and music with a joyful sax and the female vocal interplay delightful, the pace and mood veering intelligently between intense and laidback.

Earendel is an instrumental written by the very talented saxophonist, Ivor Holloway. I believe it references the farthest star known to science, named after a Tolkien figure, itself. The interplay between the sax and guitars is a joy to listen to, and there is a gentle intensity which fills the room with sound before the closing minute pares things right back with an ethereal guitar solo, the collective coming back for the closing seconds.

Goblin Gruel Part One is a song about our consumerist society and references the German astronomer Kepler with a desire for us to grow, but lights years away from this planet. There is a lovely Baroque feel as it starts, and you can visualise said astronomer watching and listening with approval. As it progresses, the voices and instruments swirl around a centre point, with the sax then taking a mighty lead, the bass and percussion thumping below, leading into the jazz trumpet.

Muse 2 Entropy follows, the lyrics suggesting a chaotic situation, although in contrast, or should I say in opposition, the music itself has a sort of measured calm to it, almost urging a return to normal, to live in the moment, and it is all sung very well by Melody Ferris, a beguiling quality to her voice exhorting us to ignore both the future and the past, just being in the now. There is a lovely sense of calm which washes over the listener in this track, a form of musical therapy as a balm to the senses, and it has become a favourite of mine over the past couple of weeks, and I will certainly play it on my radio show shortly.

Brood X is the second instrumental here, and was, again, composed by Holloway. As it starts, it reminds me so much of the wonderful 2 Tone and mixed culture jazz/reggae which was so popular over here in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. I really enjoyed that music, and went to more than a few gigs back then, and I can see me dancing in the theatre to this. The guitar solo simply solidifies the mood, dextrous and joyful. This is a simply wonderful track.

We close with the title track, named after the Baltic God of Thunder, so the equivalent of Thor for those of you who follow the Marvel Universe. Within this, there is, I feel, an extremely thoughtful commentary on modern American society, and I would be interested in finding out what, precisely, lies at the heart of it, because it is one of those masterful compositions where you take something just a little different each time it is spun. The lyricist is Alison Niedbalski, and she also provides backing vocals. It is the longest track here, just short of epic length. The opening keyboards are not a million miles away from something Rick Davies of Supertramp would recognise, and as we progress, there is more of that classical minimalism we heard earlier on Goblin Gruel Part One. The vocals by Madeline Tasquin are expressive and immersive, and the whole piece breathes like a fine wine, allowing an enjoyment at leisure to savour, Chris Lauf especially strong on some incredible drumming and percussion work driving the piece when pace is required, but pulling back nicely in the quieter passages.

This album was forwarded to me by the band after they were contacted by my Progzilla Radio colleague and friend, Mike Pollack, whose “Progressive Tracks” shows are highly recommended. In truth, without Mike’s kind contact, I probably would not have heard this fine album, and I am so glad I have. It is a delight, turning up new sounds, words, nuances each listen, and I must recommend it not only to those of you who already love the jazzier, more experimental, end of the prog spectrum, but also to those of you who are curious about “taking the plunge”, as it were. You won’t regret it.