Suchmos get adventurous with The Anymal
There’s a Japanese genre called City Pop, what seems to me to be a mix of R&B, funk, jazz-rock and always sounds a little like Jamiroquai. Two bands stand out to me: Cero and Suchmos, with Suchmos the lesser of the two.
Until now. Cero made a very ambitious album last year, ‘Poly Life Multi Soul‘, full of ingeniously composed, very compelling tracks. Complex music that is at the same time very accessible and smooth. It ended up high on my list of fave albums of last year.
Perhaps Suchmos thought it was time to step up their game a few levels too, because this year they brought out their third album The Anymal. It has 12 intricately written songs, very melodic, with surprising transitions and exciting intermezzos, verging on the psychedelic and sometimes reminiscent of The Beatles.
There are a few ballads, a few dance tracks and two blues tracks (my least favorite tracks, I don’t like blues). These are not just pleasant tunes anymore, but very adventurous, multi-layered musical explorations. I find it a very thrilling album. (PB)
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