Oort Smog—the duo of saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi and drummer Mark Kimbrell—file their brand of explorative aggro-jazz under “brutal-prog,” a term the iconoclastic polymath Weasel Walter originally coined for his long-running group the Flying Luttenbachers. Shiroishi and Kimbrell’s sonic assault nods to the Luttenbachers’ breakneck rigor but it also expands into the kinds of blissed-out vistas and ritualistic probes navigated by Battle Trance and Little Women.
While Oort Smog channels those aforementioned bands, the duo clearly inhabits its own sound-world on its powerful second effort, Every Motherfucker Is Your Brother. This single 29-minute composition is a stunning achievement. Shiroishi and Kimbrell have refined their craft since their shambolic 2019 debut Smeared Pulse Transfers. It’s a testament to their laser-eyed focus that spanned 18 months of writing and recording time, commenced during the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.
The ever-mutating, multifaceted “Every Motherfucker…” morphs from the tranquil atmospheric landscapes of its first few minutes (envision a droning sci-fi jazz backdrop to Blade Runner) into ghostly, soaring sax blows and heavy-hitting, busy beats that propel the epic track toward another stratosphere. At the halfway mark, Shiroishi and Kimbrell switch gears again, settling into a groove laden with shifting time signatures that has the duo firing on all cylinders but with razor-sharp accuracy, and they don’t look back. The telepathic bond they share throughout is top-notch.
Impeccably recorded inside the cavernous confines of L.A. venue Human Resources, Every Motherfucker Is Your Brother expresses a hopefulness and urgency made for these times.
