killer BOB put me in a trance the first time I saw them, just the other night at Trans Pecos in Queens. This isn’t a band who limits themselves to a single palette. They’re expansive and forward-thinking, operating on a plane of exploration in new sounds and structures in a highly diverse and improvisational setting. Their sound varies from drone-centered, rhythmic vamps to the wildly expressive free-form of jazz-influenced improvisation, their structures always veering into the innovative and interesting without totally losing their sense of balance.
Drummer Max Jaffe’s sense of time and rhythm is stunning. The locomotive of the band, he’s often taking a lead role. With guitar and bass as backdrop, the ensemble becomes a unified freight train of rhythmic power under a layer of distorted drone. There’s something so natural about killer BOB’s exploration. The improvisations sound composed and composition sounds improvised, which more than anything means this is a group of very talented musicians.
Stream the two songs from their past releases, below, and you’ll see the diversity I’m talking about.
