Roam the Hello Clouds - "Near Misses"

Roam the Hello Clouds - Pretender's Hand (~Scape 2007)

Roam the Hello Clouds - Near Misses / ~Scape

With the recent passing of Max Roach and a reflection on what we've been going over here at Audiversity in the past few weeks, Roam the Hello Clouds came at just the right time. It had been a while since I'd listened to a proper jazz album; Blockhead and Arts the Beatdoctor danced around the genre with a jazz flair but a hip-hop base. I can't remember the last time I'd listened to an album that had jazz inklings but wasn't a straightforward affair.

Luckily, the ever-reliable, Berlin-based ~Scape label has read my mind. Upon arriving back in Chicago yesterday, I was quickly rifling through some of Michael's albums that had yet to be reviewed - sometimes I just have to make do with leftovers, y'see - when I stumbled upon the sleeve for this record. Interested almost entirely because they're on ~Scape, I went ahead and popped it in. I was greeted with an excellent jazz album that is alternately light on the foot and loaded on the gravitas.

Who is Roam the Hello Clouds?

Roam the Hello Clouds is a talented Australian trio consisting of Phil Slater (who beautifully handles the trumpet as well as a few bells + whistles scattered throughout the record), Dave Miller (mixing n' mingling the organic base of the songs with his laptop), and Laurence Pike (who cleverly flavors tracks with drums, the glockenspiel, and some vibraphone).

These three have a proven record when it comes to former groups: Slater was in Band of Five Names and has recorded with Lou Reed and Perth rock heroes The Sleepy Jackson. Miller has been a member of Pivot as well as a solo artist with a robust back catalog; in addition, it would seem that Miller is our kind of guy. Not only does he knock around East London, he also drinks "real ale." Pike was also in Pivot, but he's recorded and toured with Burnt Friedman and, wait for it, Prefuse 73. Jackpot.

What Can They Offer Me?

Near Misses is about as good as you're going to get when it comes to electrically enhanced jazz. This isn't a total reworking of the music, but the added touch of a little laptop work brings that much more depth to the fore of this ten-track debut. And that's not the only kind of experimentation going on here: Roam the Hello Clouds was built on the idea that trial and error can produce something fruitful. Miller and Pike met in October of 2003 playing the Sydney Opera House on what was apparently a "musical blind date." Their styles gelled and one week later they were playing again - this time with Slater added to complete what they thought would be a one-off. Thank goodness it wasn't: After their second performance, the three men got together and recorded what was to become Near Misses.

What's so remarkable about these performances is that they are group improvisations recorded in just one day. Banging out a track with such a dramatic dynamic as "Pretender's Hand" as well as the woozy nightclub funk (rather than funky) feeling of late-album highlight "A Life of Near Misses" (which arguably could not have been titled any better) can only mean these three musicians have the natural talent to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses.

It plays brilliantly. The highlight of several of these tracks is Slater's excellent trumpet playing, but pay attention to the textures that Miller is slipping in almost unnoticed. You think you're hearing another trumpet in a track like "Twenties in the Eighties," but you've been had. That's Miller working his magic, adding color and panache to an already admirable trumpet performance.

The unheralded hero of this review is Pike. I'm not an expert on the technical aspects of drumming and percussion, and I'm certainly no Max Roach when it comes to playing them, but Pike adds his own improvised flavor to each song by holding together the wandering sounds of his bandmates. To me, that's the mark of a great percussionist: Someone who can keep the beat interesting without stealing the spotlight John Bonham-style and simultaneously pin down surrounding sounds as a kind of anchor, a counterweight to the freeform experimentation of backward percussion or a lonely trumpet stumbling through dark back alleys at night. Pike duly performs this role and there's no question the occasional glockenspiel will bring a smile to your face.

It's that added element of playfulness that weaves its way in and out of the many sobering and contemplative moments dominating the tone of this record. It's also what makes Roam the Hello Clouds' debut so fascinating. If you're at all looking for a jazz record with the feel of something traditional and a touch of the modern improv, or if you just happen to have a hard-on for the trumpet, this is your record right here.

Can They Come and Play My Town?

Sayeth the men themselves: "Sure. Contact us." Now you have instructions. You know what to do.