Comet is Coming
albums
Band Members:
Danalogue (Dan Leavers- synthesizer, keyboards), Betamax (Max Hallett- drums), King Shabaka (Shabaka Hutchings- saxophone)
Biggest Influences:
Tortoise, Add N to X, Peter Gabriel, Jon Hassell, Hawkwind, Neu, Sun Ra
Album Chronologically:
2016 – 91% - Channel the Spirits
2019 – 75% - Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery
2022 – 86% - Hyper Dimensional Expansion Beam
EP’s
2015 – 76% - Prophecy EP
2017 – 97% - Death to the Planet EP
2019 – 70% - Aftermath EP
2016
Channel the Spirits - 91%
Comet is Coming takes their name very literally, as even the song titles on their debut are named after space-travel themes. As the group glides along with code names and the killer trio combination of saxophone ( Shabaka Hutchings ) keyboards (Danalouge) and drums (Betamnax), they truly form a new kind of rock music (well, jazz and post-roc influenced music maybe). In a way, this band takes Post-rock (or instrumental rock music) to the next level, after a band like Tortoise or Dirty Three had sort of perfected the other versions of it in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. “Space Carnival” is a beautiful opening salvo taking us on a display of what we are about to hear and see with our ears. “Journey through the Asteroid Belt” sounds exactly like that- a person traveling on some kind of interstellar voyage and all they sights they see along the way; each new keyboard sound or irregular drum pattern unlocks a new dimension. “Cosmic Dust” shows off that saxophone and its attempts to get very, very out there with unpredictable patterns.
Without vocals of any kind, the question of a release like this is how much of this can sound new and does it get too monotonous? The stream of conscious ness kind of flow is one that is very addictive, but it does not really take from jazz music the improvisational feel the way you think it would. These players are creative to the max: “New Age” being a kind of tribalism and “Star Furnaces” uses the keyboards instead of drums as the main percussion; “Slam Dunk in a Black Hole” having a very surreal quality to it- again each song seems to match its song title. Title track “Channel the Spirts” is where it starts to get maybe a little abstract for my tastes, and perhaps the shorter tracks could have been left out all together as there are several of them and they seem a bit unnecessary; also “Lightyears” finally has some spoken-word vocals (by Joshua Idehen) but they seem out of place and the track could have been cut entirely to make a tighter album. Still its hard to not enjoy everything about this album, a very auspicious debut for a trio of experienced players that make brave and vital experimental music.
Best Songs: Journey Through the Asteroid Belt, Slam Dunk In a Black Hole, Space Carnival, Cosmic Dust
Sidenote: single “Final Eclispe” was also released in 2016 and it would have made a fine addition to this album, displaying King Shabaka’s saxophone abilities even more (later version on the Death to Planet EP, reviewed below).
2019
Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery - 75%
The second CIC album is a bit transitional, which makes sense as the debut and EP that followed were just about perfect. The first track “Because The End is Really the Beginning” is as close as this band ever get to a type of lounge jazz. There is a much more focused attempt at writing coherent songs with verses and choruses this time around, and its obvious on the Tortoise influenced “Birth of Creation” just what these guys Are up to. The whole album seems to have a god created the universe Book of Genesis to it. The most riff driven song of their career is on “Summon the Fire” almost worth the price of admission alone, sounds like a volcano come to life and chasing after all the dinosaurs. “Blood of the Past” is the longest track the band have to date, and it mainly works to bring an emotional element to the forefront of the King Shabaka’s smooth lead sax lines; again though I am not sure the spoken-word section works. “Super Zodiac” finishes the middle trilogy of songs that makes the album worth hearing, more fast percussion and a sort of race to the finish for each instrument.
But so much of the album has a serene quality to it I have not heard fore form this group. “Universe Wakes up” almost takes on a Brian Eno quality of calm air, where as some like “timewave Zero” and “Astral Flying” leave too little of an impression. CIC seem to be reaching here, away from the hyper-percussive sound of the past and towards something more like the ultimate in post-rock, Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden (1988) or Laughing Stock (1991) albums. But ya know, with more saxophones! I’m not sure they quite achieve it here, but the next album could really be something building upon this base.
Best Songs: Summon the Fire, Super Zodiac, Unity
2022
Hyper Dimensional Expansion Beam - 86%
The super dark and twisted instrumental music of CIC is kind of like a new sort of progressive roc, like Ozric Tentacles in the 90’s or . On their third album, the group mixes dance music beats seamlessly with the already electronic drums of Max Hallett; Hallett aka Betamax is a serious contender for drummer of the last decade, up there with Bill Bruford or Martin Atkins for mixing rhythmic noise and pushing this type of music forward. The space primitivism of “Pyramids” and “Techinicolour” set new standards for types of futuristic intellectual Dance Music. Opener “Code” can be off putting at first, but once you allow it to drag you into the chaos of Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings it really makes an impression on your soul
This combo trio of Sax-Keyboards-drums marks a new take on rock n roll, or maybe its jazz, or dance music…..its hard to tell anymore. The lines have been blurred, what once was separate genres have all come together. In a much more organic way than Hutchings other group Sons of Kemet (more “earthy” jazz than this groups “cosmic” jazz) Nothing is simple in this world – “Atomic Wave Dance” has a great beat and the saxophone is content to play circles around it, making it always entertaining while the keyboard makes spooky noises in the background; “Mystik” channels up some ancient energy for an amazing album closer. Sometimes its too abstract, the odd AOR background of “The Hammer” and the meandering of “Frequency of Feeling Expansion” are really not my thing, but the most part this stuff remains an intriguing listen, always offering something different by fusing many elements together.
Best Tracks- Code, Angel of Darkness, Atomic Wave Dance
Compilations
2015
Prophecy - 76%
The first jump out of the muck, the debut EP by the band shows off all the sides they have even if they are destined for greater things. “Neon Baby” is a pleasant display of their style, a sort of warm up for the more exciting “Do the Milky Way”, led by Shabaka’s tenor sax lines. The band is obsessed with space and cosmic ideas and it does fit their music well. “Star Exploding” tries its hand at a longer format but I don’t think the band is quite there yet, it can’t quite sustain the energy for that long. The more languid patterns of “Cosmic Serpent” fair pretty well, but “Final Days” fails miserably when it adds vocals to the mix. It is not bad by any means, in fact it's quite enjoyable- CIC seems to draw the line very well by fusing elements of Krautrock, Jazz Fusion and Post Rock together in a way I have never heard before. But it true so much of the EP feels like a warm up compared to what’s to come. the first 4 songs all have something about them that makes them special.
Best Songs: Do the Milky Way, Neon Baby, Star Exploding in Slo Mo
2017
Death to the Planet EP – 97%
Oh no, which planet are they referring to?? I like to think of this album as a missile to destroy any planet that may try to collide with our own a message to invaders that humans are a force to be reckoned with! Death to the Planet EP is a further examples of what this band does so well, these four songs just set up the future of music even better. Check out the backwards phasing drumbeats of the eight minute “March of the Rising Sun” that never gets old making us dizzy until we explode, the saxophone staccato of “Final Eclipse”, the keyboard attack patterns in “Star Running” that are actually sublimely catchy. Finally, “Ascension” is a short little coda to what came before, but one that show a kind of beauty that no other CIC track had before this. At only 4 songs, its just enough Comet is Coming and it does not over stay any kind of welcome, perhaps EP’s are where this band would excel the most? But let’s be honest they make killer instrumentals and make this kind of rock/jazz/fusion possible in the 21th century. Quite the achievement.
Best Songs: all of them
2019
The Afterlife EP - 70%
This is technically too long to be an EP at 32 minutes, but that seems to be how the band classifies this so I am running with it. This EP seems to be along the same lines as their 2019 album companion Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery, and it is also not really what I like about the band. The atmosphere creation is nice and a pleasant sound always, but the driving force that is needing to propel the songs forward is not here. The title track “Afterlife” has a repetitive sax riff but its not the band at their best, and many of these songs sound like toss offs that didn’t make the cut of the album. Unlike the 2017 EP Death to the Planet, this does not add much new to the band’s repertoire, except the last half of the title track and the groovy “Lifeforce II”.
Best Songs: Lifeforce II, The Afterlife