Bart are in no rush to make you fall in love with them on their newest album, Today, Tomorrow, & The Next Day. Instead, they want to lull you into it in a dream-like trance, guided by vocalists Chris Shannon and Nathan Vanderwielen. They round out their outfit with Jason Bhattacharya on drums and Jacob Morgan on bass; this album also features Joseph Shabason (of Destroyer) on sax and Michael Olson on strings.
If you put aside their astounding musicianship, what stands out about the album is the ability for each artist to play to their element without it becoming too much. The use of space allows each song to expand in hallucinatory waves that break with tight guitar riffs and sax-induced jazz funk. Their light, breathy falsettos float across stories of one-sided love on "If You Want Me," complex family dynamics on "Please Explain This to Them," and themes of growing older.
The repetition, pin-turns in style and almost dizzying lo-fi element give this album a distinctively psychedelic feel. It doesn't induce the same heart-racing, mind flows of other psychedelic rock outfits; instead it feels like one state of consciousness evolving into another. Today, Tomorrow, & The Next Day enjoyable trip rather than a jarring one.
*Editor's note: An earlier version of this review misidentified members of the band; Exclaim! regrets the error.
(Idée Fixe)If you put aside their astounding musicianship, what stands out about the album is the ability for each artist to play to their element without it becoming too much. The use of space allows each song to expand in hallucinatory waves that break with tight guitar riffs and sax-induced jazz funk. Their light, breathy falsettos float across stories of one-sided love on "If You Want Me," complex family dynamics on "Please Explain This to Them," and themes of growing older.
The repetition, pin-turns in style and almost dizzying lo-fi element give this album a distinctively psychedelic feel. It doesn't induce the same heart-racing, mind flows of other psychedelic rock outfits; instead it feels like one state of consciousness evolving into another. Today, Tomorrow, & The Next Day enjoyable trip rather than a jarring one.
*Editor's note: An earlier version of this review misidentified members of the band; Exclaim! regrets the error.