DARCY JAMES ARGUE'S SECRET SOCIETY: Real Enemies
New Amsterdam, 2016

ORCHESTRAL JAZZ – Wow! Conspiracy theories are the basis of this extended suite for 18-piece band. As you might expect, the music sounds paranoid and unsettling. But it's also really cool and cinematic, with lots of 12-tone composition, spoken samples (Dick Cheney, JFK, etc), and little nods to movie soundtracks scattered around. Tracks bleed into each other so you might want to fade in and out.

ALL GOOD. Fo’s Picks: 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

1. 8:07 – radio static, one-note patterns in space, slow & spooky harmonies
2. 4:37 – a bit of '70s crime-movie flavor: growling mystery over cool bassline
3. 7:05 – funky retro synths, switches to a Cuban groove in the middle
4. 5:21 – acidic guitar in calmly shifting space, rock feel under bari sax solo
5. 6:47 – little trills in open space; merges, dialogue, then paranoid ensemble
6. 4:26 – light machine-gun march, sax muses, slurred ensemble, driving end
7. 6:16 – JFK on conspiracy, pause, slow surge w/piano, furtive flugelhorn
8. 5:38 – upbeat latin wiggle with bombastic ensemble, hints of self-parody
9. 7:03 – darkness, slow & fast: "New World Order" speech, cajon, bass solo
10. 5:48 – slow winds & scurrying sax; space fills up, then a sinister groove
11. 7:28 – scattered, electric piano, weirdo funk, Jimmy Carter's UFO, wild end
12. 4:18 – excellent spoken-word essay on the place of conspiracy theories in modern history, spooky theme from #1 gradually swallows it
13. 6:02 – continues from #12, with multiple samples [possible FCC: "I don't believe them mufuggas went to the moon"], essay concludes

[ Fo ] - 26 March 2017