The cover art of Lettuce’s Resonate is a mirror image of its Grammy-nominated predecessor’s, Elevate, while its title is no less of an action verb. So it only stands to reason this seventh album is a marked digression from the earlier one, despite the fact it was written and recorded during the same Colorado Sound Studio sessions that spawned the previous LP, again in conjunction with producer and engineer Russ Elevado (D’Angelo, The Roots, Erykah Badu). But it is actually the elevated production pedigree that allows Lettuce to successfully navigate away from (most of) the dub-reggae influence of the prior record into a more open, jazz-oriented territory.
And that’s all the more impressive given the continued absence of band co-founders and former chief soloists guitarist Eric Krasno and keyboardist Neal Evans. Within the increasingly tight bonding of the six-man unit, Adam Deitch’s drumming remains snappy even as the ensemble moves at the comparatively leisurely gait of “Silence Is Golden;” Nigel Hall’s electric piano glows and the horns of Ryan Zoidis and Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom waft over, around and through an arrangement markedly altering the pace and tone of a record that commenced with the readily-familiar, danceable likes of “Blaze.” Meanwhile, the fast-paced and syncopation “Good Morning Mr. Schmink” not only brings to mind Lettuce’s previous work, in the form of Rage and Fly, it also calls to mind the glory days of Tower of Power (without sounding derivative of the Bay area icons). “Moksha” thus becomes a decided curve-ball as ghostly Indian motifs emerge from cloudy ambiance in marked contrast to the reggae rhythms and melody of the preceding cut. But as Adam ‘Shmeeans’ Smirnoff’s Hendrixian guitar twists through the air during a more conventional funk workout, the raga element turns into a refrain and the musicians traverse a potentially perilous transition with confidence and panache.
The record is certainly living up to its title by the mid-point and Lettuce hardly falters as it delves into even more novel ground. “Mr Dynamite” recalls nothing so much as the electrified space travels of Herbie Hancock on Sextant, albeit with a more prominent emphasis on the beat(s) a la Headhunters or Thrust. The vocals on “Remember the Children,” on the other hand, might be a bit too reminiscent of Earth Wind & Fire, but as flinty rhythm guitar and percussion rescue the track, it ultimately becomes as concise in its own way as its surroundings.
It is, in fact, as much of an exception to the prevailing jazz overtones here as “Checker Wrecker.” Featuring DC go-go music legends Big Tony Fisher of Trouble Funk and Tyrone “Jungle Boogie” Williams of Rare Essence, this cut nevertheless seems a bit forced, as did similar concessions to commerciality on Elevate. The cheesy Korg X-911 synth tones nag more often than not on “House of Lett,” but Erick “Jesus” Coomes’ bass more than compensates; as on “NDUGU” (an ode to the fusion drummer/composer), he ratifies how fully he can utilize his instrument to mesmerize as well as insinuate himself into any given groove, acting as an anchor for the sextet.
In a decidedly different me, the placement of less than a minute of the spacey “’Lude,” in the home stretch of these eleven cuts, hints at Lettuce’s courage of fusing its well-established rhythmic approach with atmospheric instrumental work. A more natural extension of the group’s influences than those displayed on the last album, Lettuce has never sounded so mature or versatile as on Resonate.
