Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

Having worked with TV on the Radio and Tom Waits, Colin Stetson is one of those musicians who is legendary, it’s just that you don’t know it. That’s why this album exists, to make you aware that there is a supremely talented man in our midst, capable of doing things with a saxophone that would melt your mind. His music exists in a realm where trying to class what he does merely cheapens it; a stream of skewed grooves and the kind of technical flair that makes you stop what you’re doing just to check if you actually heard it.

The title track (in a sense), Judges is a winding pathway of jungle rhythms, arpeggiated bass and saxophone exclamations – a bizarre mix of ingenuity, talent and technical wizardry and it’s an ethos that works well for Stetson. Every song seems brimming over with ideas and, while the mix does sometimes become a little heady, we should be thankful an album so boldly original was even committed to tape.