He Did It Again
Two albums in less than twelve months. That might have been sort of the normal thing to do back in the 60s and 70s. If you ask your new best friend AI what’s the average time between two albums the answer is surprisingly vague. 18 to 24 months. Could have also said something like “it depends”. It does, in a way. Some artists might say “Are you out of your mind?”, like MC5 for example – they have taken no less than 53 years between regular studio albums number 3 and 4. Not that this is the world record. Some dude called Dean Gitter has an astonishing 57 years between albums. The entire life of Prince fits into that gap.
Jimi Tenor turned 60 just a few weeks ago, and I’m very supportive of his comparatively busy release schedule – even if it is not as wild as that of King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard who bombarded their fans with six albums in one year (2017).
But enough of those comparisons. The only thing you can really compare this album with is the one he gave us last year, “Is There Love In Outer Space?”. Mostly because they feel like siblings, both released on Timmion, and both produced by Cold Diamond & Mink. I sure wouldn’t mind these two albums getting few additional brothers and sisters.
It could be the coldest and most miserable day in a month full of dreariness – once Jimi and his companions start moseying into the title track it’s a perfect summer day. “It’s July and I’m with you baby. It’s July, the sky is blue”. That’s almost all it takes, lyrically, as the band conjures up my ultimate soundtrack of pure summer bliss. Totally adorable, completely disarmingly beautiful.
With inimitable ease, Jimi seamlessly slides directly into an urban science fiction scene, on a super cool monorail, “Sky Train Baby” by his side. It’s amazing how the Cold Diamond & Mink crew keep it so immensely fluid, no matter where Jimi is taking them. This is not one of those high speed trains, more like a nighttime scenic cruise with a skyline view that feels like home.
“Venus Of Barsoon” makes you wonder if that nightly sky train took the guys all the way to a slightly shady and warped watering hole of a distant space colony, and it sounds as if Jimi and the boys had secretly invited El Michels Affair to join them on stage.
Things get even more spooky on the second side, when “Ikuchi” slithers into view down in the harbor basin. Can you see it? Something’s moving over there. Wet and glittery scales, as dark as the water, only visible when the neon signs of the surrounding bars bounce off it. “Ikuchi” is a large sea serpent in Japanese folklore, known for its slippery, oily body. We’re safe here, on land, it only creates a problem when it gets entangled with ships. Might even make them sink. Still. A scary sight, an eerie sound, a jazzy little monster movie. And so, so cool.
The two remaining scenes were already sent out to the world on a recent 7″. But they totally belong here, first giving us a variation of the opening vibe with “Summer Of Synesthesia”, first cool and composed, and then increasingly epic and emotional, building towards a beautiful finale, and then giving us yet another round of shivers with “Tsicroxe”, the slickest and most stylish horror flick you’ve ever heard. The title says it all… “Exorcist” backwards. A double dose of doom, served with a big heap of style and laced with ominous choirs, even ending with a few spoken words played backwards. I played that backward sequence backwards, but I still couldn’t figure out what the message might be.
Jimi’s last album was loosely grouped around a space theme – “July Blue Skies” has more worlds to get immersed in. Cozy deck chairs and urban sci-fi, sea serpents and backwards exorcists – and yet it’s all marvelously coherent. It’s a combination made in some strangely cool heaven, Jimi Tenor merging with Cold Diamond & Mink, Jimi being the Jimi you always loved, just way more present, his touch rendered timeless by his colleagues who sound just as crisp as always, while hugely benefiting from working with Jimi. The best Jimi Tenor ever, and the best Cold Diamond & Mink ever.
Release for review:
JIMI TENOR – JULY BLUE SKIES – TIMMION RECORDS – TRLP-12015
Get the album on Bandcamp: Click