BADBADNOTGOOD
III

My approach to the music of BADBADNOTGOOD was random. A video on YouTube, the single "Can't Leave This Night" found by chance, sparked my curiosity to listen to this band from Toronto. A young jazz trio, as their Wikipedia page states. I want to know more, and I discover that they already have three albums and numerous collaborations. I decide to listen to the new album, released on the past sixth of May.

To my surprise, I discover that "III," this is the album's title, is much more than a jazz record. A kaleidoscope of perfectly blended genres. An incredible fusion of styles that makes this record the most successful of the Canadian band. There's jazz, obviously, spread throughout almost all nine tracks of the album, but there's also more, much more.

In the opening "Triangle" you can feel all of BBNG's love for jazz. A Morricone-style piano, the double bass marking the time, and a sound that envelops us and makes us move our heads and feet following the rhythm. It feels like being in a James Bond film, and at certain points, it reminds me of Daniele Luppi's excellent album with Jack White and Norah Jones from a couple of years ago. In "Confessions" the quintessential jazz instrument appears: the saxophone. A sensual saxophone, warm, creating a bewitching, damn engaging nighttime atmosphere.

In the 50 minutes of the album, as I said, there's much more. First and foremost, there's hip-hop. Instrumental hip-hop, played with spectacular mastery and ability to envelop the listener. In the long "Kaleidoscope" the rhythm suddenly accelerates, reminding me of The Roots from a few years ago, The Roots who packed their music with soul sounds borrowed directly from New York City's black venues of the seventies. A triumph of sounds, colors, and orchestral openings that make this track one of the peaks of this new creation by the Canadian band.

"Eyes Closed" and "Hedron" are two other intense and rich moments of nuances. In the first piece, the jazz echoes still take the lead, but there's a killer hip-hop base, an electronic synth carpet in the background, and a guitar peeking in the central part that layers and enriches this track, sending us into rapture. In the second piece, there's the refinement and bewildering sweetness of soul that overshadows jazz, and it reminded me a lot of Earl Sweatshirt's bases from his beautiful "Doris" in 2013.

And precisely the influence of Earl Sweatshirt (a remarkably talented young rapper with whom BBNG collaborated on some mixtapes) forms the basis for the final two pieces. Here jazz almost disappears, electronics becomes pounding, overflowing. "Since You Asked Kindly" has incredible drive, impossible to stay still. A drum that seems to be played with six hands instead of two, a persistent and fast synth that transforms the New York City black venue into a London disco pub. And then there's the true gem of the album. Even though each of the nine pieces on the album is beautiful and engaging, the last hypnotic and almost unsettling "CS60" remains the best. Perhaps the most beautiful track BBNG has ever made. Electronics, hip-hop, and jazz blend, and a vague hint of dark-ambient appears to hypnotize us even more. Seven minutes of ecstasy, in which our three musicians bring out the best of their repertoire. The abrupt entry of electronics in the middle part makes me think of Flying Lotus and Tim Hecker, then the sound transforms again, becoming raw hip-hop (and again, the ghosts of Sweatshirt, Tyler The Creator, MF Doom, and Madvillain appear as inspirations).

III by BADBADNOTGOOD was an unexpected surprise for me. An album listened to by chance that immediately captivated me. I was struck by the variety of perfectly mixed genres, by the skill with which this Canadian trio put together nine powerful and dark yet refined and complex tracks. This album, "III," although entirely instrumental, never loses its freshness and ability to captivate. Nine moments spread over just under an hour where boredom or the smell of déjà vu never appear. Another album to add to the year's best releases.