Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tin Men and the Telephone: World Domination Vol 1: Furie

6

Tin Men and the Telephone: World Domination Vol 1: Furie

By

Sign in to view read count
Tin Men and the Telephone: World Domination Vol 1: Furie
Seriously, if this is what world domination sounds like, sign me up for a lifetime subscription!

Sure you can control this trio with a smartphone through the Tinmendo app, but can you really? These guys are so gloriously off the rails, so wondrously their own entity that, yeah, go find your hot spot and hope for reception, but you ain't in control. None of us are (at the moment). But when this Amsterdam-based cauldron of invention and genre-mashing trio—pianist/electronist Tony Roe, bassist Pat Cleaver, and drummer Bobby Petrov—turn on the news and hear the insanity taking the place of sanity, well, good frikkin' luck. They're going to, like any artist past and present fighting dutifully against the tightening dark light, lash out like hell. And good for them. And us.

Furie, short for Federal Union for Restoring Intergalactic Equilibrium, explodes out with the title track and features a madman's grab bag of break beats, disjointed melodies, deep dubs and, oh yeah, the beauty that is free-form jazz. Tin Men and the Telephone go harp-like, rap-like and whatever else captures their ADHD, making a music that, if it doesn't survive the apocalypse, at least keeps you company until then in this madhouse swirl we define as today, looping sound bytes of less-than-respected, more-than-hated politicians. Trump, the idiot king on "The Wall," "Kim Jong-un" and a wiltingly humorous "Elmo Erdogan" serve as jump-off points for radical improv, inventive melodic invective and rhythmic consequence. Tunes bubble and burst, boggle and beat. They shimmy, willy nilly. They go AI binary ("Autonomous Weapons") and, because they are decisively skilled musicians both unafraid and unbounded by style and definition, veering from bop to pure riff, the technology never overwhelms but serves the greater communicative whole.

And their website is a blast to visit!

Track Listing

Furie; Elmo Erdogan; Autonomous Weapons; Skit; Church Towers Pt 3; Come des chiens; The Wall; King Jong-un; OP 114; Tilos Kilmondani; Skit 2; Church Towers Pt 4.

Personnel

Tony Roe: piano/electronics; Pat Cleaver: bass; Bobby Petrov: drums.

Album information

Title: World Domination Vol 1: Furie | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Sena

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.