Back in 2019, underground saxophone warrior Sam Weinberg put together an intense, bass-less trio with drummer Jason Nazary and guitarist Andrew Smiley called BLOOR and made immediate impact that year with Drolleries, which we described as “wild, acerbic and even a bit mathematical.”
Soon after Drolleries came out, Weinberg made a couple of changes to the concern; one, by adding a bass player Henry Fraser to the mix and two, by slightly changing the band’s name: BLOAR is a one-letter alteration of the its predecessor band BLOOR.
BLOAR’s first album Another Candy Bar From G.I. Joe was recorded live but it wasn’t intended to be rendered this way. Yes, the quartet did get to work on Weinberg’s new tunes and touring on them, but the idea was to lay down tracks of the new material in a studio in March 2020. Well, we all know what happened next and they’re probably still waiting for the chance to spend time together in the studio today. Luckily, Weinberg had some recordings from the tour stashed away on a hard drive. He handed it over to Ryan Power for a little mixing and mastering and — voila — here we are.
BLOAR is just as raw as BLOOR but with Fraser handling the bottom Smiley is now freed up to take on a whole variety of roles, like doubling up with Weinberg on the jigsaw chorus of “Bristow” and then shred with real punk conviction on his solo as Fraser violently thrums those low end tones. When it’s Weinberg’s turn to jam, the two guitarists step aside and it turns into vigorous simul-soloing between sax and drums. But then something unexpected happens: the band settles down into a soft, melodic motif led by Fraser and Smiley and take a mostly-violent song to a feathery ending.
That math-rock part of BLOOR/BLOAR’s DNA rears up on “The Yips.” Here, the song reaches its pivot point at Nazary’s drum solo, which serves as a segue into another pattern, with Fraser, Smiley and Weinberg playing counterparts to each other that fit together nicely like a pieces of a puzzle.
Henry Fraser had just come on board when these performances were recorded but it’s clear Weinberg planned for the bassist to play a large role in his reconstituted band. “Lispenard” begins with lead bass lines establishing the slanted melody and keeps things tied down along with Nazary’s marching beat.
“Mott” (as does “Mayn”) contains more of the guitar/sax unison jaunts and sounding not too unlike Canterbury legends Henry Cow. The middle section explodes into chaos, however, that dissolves into near nothingness that picks itself off the ground, underscoring how Weinberg likes for his songs to be packed with a good amount of twists and turns.
“Both Warp & Woof” has all four players forging through an up-and-down gauntlet of chords in tight formation, after which the group sharply diverges where everyone is down their own thing within wide parameters but find themselves converging again under a tense groove.
Another Candy Bar From G.I. Joe is not only the first BLOAR album but also the maiden release by new record label Terrace Records. Pick up a digital download or a vinyl disc of Another Candy Bar From G.I. Joe from Bandcamp.
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