It is impossible not to bob your head at least a little to Green Sound’s hypnotically funky self-titled album, which pulls listeners in with its compact compositions and laid-back improvising. With a diverse set of backgrounds between the three of them—jazz, math rock and classical, to name a few—the trio molds genres together into something that is wonderfully ambiguous. It is less important what styles the music is routed in and rather more important that it gets you grooving and feeling good. A testament to the powerful effect friendship can have on music, “Green Sound” features the chemistry of saxophonist and senior Miles Allen, bassist and senior Keanan Wilson and drummer Alec Trickett.
Unfortunately for the short-lived Green Sound, Trickett has transferred since making the album and is unable to continue collaborating currently, but the three were happy to perform a few live shows and complete a nearly forty-minute release before it was too late.
Right from the start of the album, a fluttering sax floats above the minimal but strong backbone built by the drums and bass, setting the tone for the general feel and sound of the album. As “Tree Tea” progresses, Allen gradually explores harmonically, providing an alluring tension with the solid and driving rhythm section. He employs this technique in other parts, also gaining in intensity, but usually the other two react minimally, not releasing their pent-up fire until the album’s third track, “Don’t Be A Stranger.” As a third of the song passes, the groove eases up, and Allen plays pained vocal sounds as Wilson unsettlingly scratches the strings, gliding across the fret board. Not much later, all Hell breaks loose, each member wildly improvising with a density not heard previously.
The album ventures on with the bittersweet “In Person” and concludes with “KWE,” in which the spotlight is put on Wilson in the intro and Trickett near the middle. With the two typically holding down the grooves so vital to the album, it was refreshing to hear them stir and show off their chops a bit. It is not just these moments that stick out though—throughout the album, Green Sound’s musicianship and camaraderie is undeniable. While they may be done for now, I think I can speak for all listeners when I say it would be a treat for them to join up again somewhere down the road.
You can get Green Sound’s album from their Bandcamp at
