When people discuss music, it’s interesting how many different avenues can be explored – from technical expertise to genre to a band’s name. You might think it an unusual choice to begin a band name with a hashtag. Certainly, it’s not something you see every day, but it was probably a matter of time before band names included a hashtag.
#Bloomerangs is a collective who came together at The University of Indiana and seeks to explore a variety of music genres “to integrate different cultures and sounds as a vehicle to a universal human expression through music.” On their new album, Moments and Fragments, the group explores the world of jazz. Of the album, guitarist Rodrigo Cotelo said, “We wanted a historical record of our time together.”
In just a handful of songs, the band shows pretty good range of sound. The members of the group move easily from the mellow and moody sounds of “Home” to uptempo tunes like “Leap and Bounces,” the latter in which Clay Wulbrecht’s piano sound is reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi.
Perhaps the greatest example of the group’s range is in “Catch a Clue”. The song opens with some claps. As it progresses, you hear some spacey sounds on the guitar as well as some sections that bring Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention to mind both in sound and odd time signature. It is a delightfully strange song with arrangements that are not typically taught in classes.
Like a lot of jazz musicians, the members of this group show virtuosity. For example, when you hear some of Cotelo’s guitar on songs like “After the Fact”, you realize that you probably can’t do what he does on the instrument. It’s not overly showy, but rather the work of an artist who has long been dedicated to his craft. Wulbrecht’s work on the piano is impressive and generally carries the mood of the song from bright to melancholy. Through it all Stefan Lenthe (bass) and Chris Parker (drums) provide tight rhythms, which is probably not an easy thing considering the unusual structure of these songs.
This group succeeds not only in being very talented musicians, but also in creating an album that is unique. It’s unlikely that you will hear another album quite like this one any time soon. If you need an album for chilling at home, this is a solid choice.
