Surprises are always exciting, especially in the release of new music. Fire Talk Records know this all too well, having dropped a new EP from Turnip King this past Thursday, with absolutely no heads up. It’s called Drive 2 Meet You, and it features five tracks (and one demo) that demonstrate a tonal shift from swirling fuzz and airy reverb, to more intangible, freeform compositions.
There’s a certain growth, a maturity in never staying in one place for too long, as though they know full well the NY quartet knows full well they’re so many things all in one. A song will alternate beautifully from the jittery and near jazzy, to the beautiful and near operatic, as made immediately clear on opener “Beauty On The Beat.” The song changes tempo enough times to make your head spin, and highlights Lucia Arias’ and Cal Fish’s boisterous, crystal clear vocals. Ethereal flute tones and seemingly improvised bass and percussion parts come to the forefront in songs like “Who Dreams The Dream?” and “Beebaa,” each new development like passing through spatial thresholds to enter new galaxies. You almost wrestle with song structures, and, just as you think you have them mastered, they change course and start anew. It’s a complex and innovative record, rooted in an elegance and reassurance that makes for a euphoric listening experience. They even feature a live-sampling of Kool & The Gang. How could you go wrong?
