Album Review: Men I Trust Sing To Oncle Jazz
Of all the genres, jazz has one of the most powerful histories and concepts. Born from black oppression into 19th century NOLA, it is has becoming a global force its simultaneously frenetic and simmering interpretation of human frustrations. Sometimes, the most stressful part about a world that won’t accept you is that you don’t accept yourself, as well. It is as if the universe and yourself have come to a mutual agreement that you are nothing, which is a theme that runs rampant in a lot of new music and Men I Trust’s new record: Oncle Jazz.
Men I Trust’s Oncle Jazz feels like dream pop and jazz had a baby. It burns and shines like a fire spreading in slow-motion. It is lively by being so calm and collected a cricket would silence itself so as not to disturb its sanctity. It 100% feels like a record you buy on vinyl, play while in scoping your bedroom for old scrapbooks, and smoking a spliff to recall the memories that are tied to its pictures. Yeah….. it is that cool. The irony is that it is a debut album about feeling like you are not cool or might not ever start to be.
At 24 tracks, Oncle Jazz feels like a journey of introspection, in part, because Emma’s voice has a hushing quality. Her power lies in that she doesn’t sound “powerful.” She is potently gentle. Singing her lyrics like they are saccharine whispers; as if sugar decided to speak quietly to you about being “Numb,” “Something In The Water” or “Days Go By.” In being a long record, with sonic twists and turns that go by like caressing winds, Oncle Jazz feels like a symbol of every time someone told you, “You never know what runs through people’s minds.” In a way, that is a truth music and Men I Trust live by.
Men I Trust – Norton Commander (All We Need)
You never know, at least fully, the inner workings of a human being. Frankly, I think the saddest thing to be is predictable, especially if people can rely on you to never be bold or always be brutish. Men I Trust’s album is a sporadic fantasy that is paced and plated in the mind of a person trying to not feel mindless. Again, this is such a common, but nuanced theme in current music, which I find fascinating. it is as if every artists is finding a different way to say the same thing: we have to think for ourselves in refreshing ways…. but how? Men I Trust’s Oncle Jazz, out September 13, might be one way. Click Here To Buy.
