Garage A Trois

Although French filmmaker Klaus Tontine’s Outre Mer continues to face legal barriers that prevents a wider release, thankfully the same cannot be said about Garage A Trois’s unbelievable soundtrack. The New Orleans-based ensemble features vibraphonist/percussionist Mike Dillon, guitarist Charlie Hunter, drummer Stanton Moore, and saxophonist Skerik and the quartet simply shine on every song. The title track opens the record with the same rhythmic ‘yo!’ that A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory greeted listeners with 15 years ago. They follow it up with the funky "Bear No Hair,” which features some amazing work by Dillon, Hunter, and Skerik. There’s something almost cosmopolitan about "The Machine,” a song that would get images running in your head even it wasn’t connected to a film. Again and again, from sax-led pieces like "Etienne” and "Circus” to polyrhythmic affairs like "The Dawrf” and the snaky "Antoine,” Garage A Trois are masters at finding a compelling groove and sustaining it for the perfect length of time. Though certainly not as innovative, with Outre Mer the band conjures a horn-fuelled Tortoise letting their hair down and creating an album’s worth of cheery, winsome music.