The four-time Grammy-winning collective Snarky Puppy returned last week with the release of their thirteenth album, Empire Central. Recorded live in Dallas across eight nights at the Deep Ellum Art Company, it is a homage to the city, located just 30 miles away from the University of North Texas where the group first formed on the Jazz Studies programme in 2004. The album boasts 16 instrumental tracks for fans to sink their teeth into, performed by a 19-player line up and led by bassist Michael League.
As ever, the genre-defying nature of Snarky is sustained throughout the album, this time with elements of funk, classic soul, jazz, nu-soul, rock, and so much more, amalgamating to produce a distinctly contemporary soundscape. The running theme of Dallas as a writing prompt authentically binds the material together, yet for some listeners, this eclectic range of genre-hopping may create a collection of divergent singles, rather than one flowing opus.
League’s ‘Keep It On Your Mind’ opens with a twanging guitar line before the horns enter, playing the riff in unison; there’s no room for a slow build here as the listener is taken straight into the hardcore Snarky funk zone. A heavy bassline throughout is strengthened by rocky percussion, which accompanies an impressive collection of solos that unfold in their classic style.
‘Cliroy’ is the first Snarky piece penned by Jay Jennings, with the title referencing the iconic trumpeters Clifford Brown and Roy Hargrove. The trumpet shines through with a descending bluesy opening line, which is shortly transferred onto the keys, and later accompanied by bristly tutti horn inflections. This falling motif runs throughout as the binding material of the tune and is interspersed by a selection of easy-going solos to create a ballad-like vibe.
Featuring the late Bernard Wright (Miles Davis, Chaka Khan), it’s unsurprising that ‘Take It!’ is one of the funkiest tracks on the album. Rather than an overwhelming spurt of notes, the solos – headed by Wright – are spacious, with each tone played, and the silences that come alongside them, a masterclass in musicianship. Underlined by a fat bass line which anchors the beat throughout, each solo builds upon the previous one, ultimately culminating in a three-drummer-strong explosive extravaganza.
The head of ‘Pineapple’ gives the horns a chance to show off their dexterity. Tinted with a Cory Wong-esque groove, Snarky sustain an impressively tight pocket throughout, which is combined with the melody to create an almost game show theme quality. In contrast, the flowing ‘Honiara’ is characterised by its continuous melody throughout, performed over a compound metre to provide a fluid feeling. Even the solos leave no room for pauses here, and such oscillating continuity brings with it a sense of sanguine serenity.
Whilst the whole album is saturated with a heavy drum and bass pairing, Snarky leave the fattest bass notes for the final tune, ‘Trinity’. For the intensity of material performed, the tempo here remains composed throughout, and the initial clarinet solo paired with a soaring trumpet warms to this sustained notion. The closing material of the album is initiated by a keys breakdown, curiously emulating material from the Mario Cart theme in what seems to be the second time this similarity can be heard in the album; some savvy listeners may notice a reference in the rhythmic composition of the earlier tune ‘Portal’ as well. Soon the final horn tutti enters, dispersed with rocky guitar solos, in what seems like one last moment of intensity. Yet, in contrast to the final moments of past albums, the ending of this monster of a tune swiftly reverses into a subtle conclusion, perhaps emulating an acoustic representation of the feeling of home in reference to Dallas.
Snarky Puppy’s elevated mastery is most apparent through their synergy; League summarises this sensation well himself: “when a song goes to the band and the players start making suggestions or changing things our collective feeling really comes through”. Empire Central is a jukebox of funkified tunes, enveloped by two more rock-heavy anthems. Whilst this jumble of styles may cause acoustic whiplash for some, for any fan of the collective, it will be love at first listen.
Words by Martha Lily Dean
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