Been a minute since we’d heard from Malcolm Catto and the Heliocentrics. I have nothing but respect for Mr. Catto, he’s probably my favorite living drummer (though Sara Lund, formerly of Unwound, is right up there) and locks into a groove like he’s the love child of Earl Palmer and Jaki Liebezeit. Though the Heliocentrics have put out some collaborations with Mulatu Astatke and Lloyd Miller, this is the proper follow-up to 2007’s Out There. Like that debut, the album is a less a collection of songs than it is a long piece of music, best listened to as a whole, akin more to a spaced out mix tape than a traditional funk, jazz or rock record. There are more than a few times where the group hits on an amazing groove that disappears or morphs into a different track or spoken word piece. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but there are so many quality tunes that I can’t fail but to be impressed by what Catto and the gang have done. Surefire addition to the best of 2013 for me.
As if a new album from the Heliocentrics wasn’t a gift enough all by itself, Gas Lamp Killer created a mix from the materials on 13 Degrees Of Reality and that really is a match made in Heaven, or perhaps some place a little darker…you can hear/download that mix by clicking here.