Desertion Trio has been guitarist Nick Millevoi’s venture into the classic, moldy sounds of long-ago instrumental rock and haunted pop tunes, fashioning them into something heavily evocative of that time but with a fresh take. This trio — which includes Johnny DeBlase on bass and Kevin Shea on drums — has nonetheless evolved nicely within that mission. Last year’s presentation Midtown Tilt invoked the feel of surf music, psych blues, movie soundtracks and any other styles used for instrumental guitar music in the 50s and 60s.
Twilight Time does that, too, but instead of originals, we’re treated to songs from The Platters, Gene Pitney, Les Baxter and the like. And for the first time, it ain’t all instrumental: Sun Ra Orchestra vocalist Tara Middleton lends her singing talents for a handful of tracks. Ron Stabinsky takes Jamie Saft’s place as occasional keyboardist; Stabinksy’s presence makes this a de facto merge of Many Arms with Mostly Other People Do The Killing, and though this ain’t really loud ‘n’ loose jazz, that kind of attitude is present on nearly every track.
Like before, Shea proves to be the most subversive element. As Middleton belts out the lyrics on The Platters’ classic “Twilight Time,” Millevoi whammy-bars his guitar and Stabinsky sculpts chords from a church-y organ, Shea is banging his drums around like Keith Moon, minus the timekeeping part (the album closes with an instrumental, trio-only version of the song).
“Busy Port” is back to the base trio, and the song quickly goes off the rails and deep into Many Arms territory before gathering itself just enough to rock ‘n’ roll to its conclusion. A syncopated rhythm is constructed for “Red River Valley,” a clever way to give this old cowboy standard a kick in the pants while maintaining its Wild West persona. “Sleepwalk” is the Santo and Johnny instrumental song that everyone’s heard in one form or another, and Millevoi’s squalling guitar dominates the sound.
Both the Platters and the Ventures recorded “Lullaby of the Leaves” in the early 60s, and Millevoi’s versions definitely leans toward the Ventures’ version but those slashing guitar lines are all his. The Joe Meek space fascination tune “I Hear A New World” fits in perfectly with this record’s vibe without much alteration to the original, because the experimental pop of the 1960 original was so far ahead of its time.
Stabinsky brings his piano to the spooky “Taboo,” recast as a lost cut from a Sean Connery-era James Bond soundtrack. Middleton returns to sing Pitney’s “Town Without Pity,” but Millevoi leaves behind a shimmering feature during the first solo segment and Stabinsky crashes in with an organ for the second one.
Just as Atomic Dog has been a carefree outlet for Marc Ribot, Desertion Trio continues to be the vehicle for mining a wide range of non-jazz influences for Nick Millevoi. And like Ribot’s project, this music is always both fun and unpredictable.
Twilight Time is due out April 26, 2019 from Long Song Records.
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