Long live The Thing, one of the most exciting groups in jazz and, indeed, any music anywhere. A trio consisting of Mats Gustafsson on saxophones, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, The Thing's music is notable for its seamless blending of jazz and rock and noise and improv and metal, with veins of many other musics besides. This wide-open sensibility has allowed the group to create a wonderfully flexible body of work since their inception in 1999, including projects with musicians as varied as Neneh Cherry, Thurston Moore, Otomo Yoshihide, Jim O'Rourke, Ken Vandermark, and Joe McPhee.
The powerhouse Boot! is a studio recording from spring 2013, and it's also the inaugural release from The Thing Records, which the group recently established in conjunction with Austria's Trost Records. This arrangement marks another milestone in The Thing's history, giving them a new freedom and the ability to stand on their own six feet. The group now has total control over their releases, including their back catalogue, and they can fulfill their aim of funneling profits directly back into making music.
Boot! is a great way to kick off this new era, the music bursting with The Thing's trademark full-throttle drive and chaotic joy. The four originals — "Reboot," "Boot!" and "Epilog" by The Thing, and Håker Flaten's "Red River" — are outstanding, providing further examples of The Thing's relentless quest and fearless journey into extremes, as well as subtleties. But the album's most dazzling songs are the two covers: John Coltrane's "India" from his 1963 album Impressions, and Duke Ellington's "Heaven" from his Second Sacred Concert, which was written and originally recorded in the late sixties. "India" is a potent retelling of a jazz classic, with The Thing infusing the gorgeous melody with a gritty, grainy urgency. The Thing gets to the song's burning vitality, blasting through to release the deep-felt imperative that characterized so much of Coltrane's music. "Heaven" is another beautiful melody, which Gustafsson gives new life through his stunning arrangement. The song includes lyrical statements that the group slowly unwinds into raw, powerful explosions. About two-thirds of the way in, Gustafsson slows down and creates a drone, with Håker Flaten's crunching bass line and Nilssen-Love's one-man volcano inciting him on. In the song's final minutes, it gradually reduces to bare bones of sound with a hint of menace and, finally, silence.
Boot! is yet further proof of The Thing's mighty talent, whether they are composing their own music or interpreting legends. Their sound is absolutely uncompromising and always surprising, as rough-hewed textures give way to lyrical contemplations, which give way to mesmerizing cacophony, which torque into almost-silent burnings. So yes, long live The Thing, and may we hear more from The Thing Records soon.
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