Virginian jazz quintet Butcher Brown has released their twelfth album of what they describe as “Solar Music.” Solar music presents itself in a variety of ways throughout this project, but the term mostly describes Butcher Brown’s unique blend of jazz, hip-hop and electronic music. Along with several guest vocalists, Butcher Brown moves through a tight twelve tracks and explores a variety of moods and sounds.
The first half of the album possesses some notable standouts, however, the album really shifts into high gear halfway through and does not let up after that point.
Butcher Brown transitions into one of the best tracks on the album, “Dinorah Dinorah” after the midpoint of the album. A cover of a George Benson tune, “Dinorah Dinorah” becomes Butcher Brown’s own through their careful arrangement and fantastic solos over the tune. Nowhere else on the album are the group’s jazz chops more evident; specifically, within guitarist Morgan Burrs and Marcus Tenney’s solos on the tune.
Butcher Brown, after demonstrating their jazz proficiency, shifts to a more modern sound in “Ibiza,” an electronic-influenced jazz composition which holds a beautiful, ethereal melody over breakbeat drum n bass-influenced drums. In terms of Butcher Brown’s sound, “Ibiza” is the standout and represents one of the record’s high points.
The final standout of “Letters from the Atlantic” is the closing track “Infant Eyes.” A cover of the Wayne Shorter tune from the late ‘60s, Butcher Brown takes this cover and approaches it similarly to the sound of “Ibiza.” In this manner, Butcher Brown takes the timeless melody of the classic tune and twists it over breakbeat drums, which drive the jam in a seemingly incongruous but immensely satisfying way.
Approaching the album as a whole, it is easy to see the project as a high-level, if unfocused in scope, effort from one of modern jazz’s most steadfast outfits. The musicality displayed by the group throughout is certainly the mark of a long-running live band, and the group’s instrumental compositions and covers are flawlessly musical. Where the project falls flat, however, is in its vocal compositions. Though there are standout guest vocalists, Mia Gladstone especially, as a general rule, the limitations imposed by stricter song structures necessitated by vocals hurt the group’s overall musicality and sound. Overall, “Letters from the Atlantic” is a strong release from a long-running band with some notable standout tracks and a few weaker vocal numbers.
