Al Doum & The Faryds 
As much as it’s nice to sink into a release over time and really get to gnaw on the singles, I’m still partial to the surprise release. There’s something satisfying about getting into a release all at once along with everyone else. Longtime wellspring of blistered jazz, Black Sweat offers up the first unexpected treat of the year with a full new album from Al Doum & The Faryds last week. The new record splits the auras of the band’s last two, still fully enmeshed with the band’s psych-soused jazz mission, but every so often curling into the jam clouds that circled 2021’s Freaky People. Hung on the polyrhythmic engine that’s fueled all of their records, the songs on Ipnagogico work in paired parcels. Three two-part arcs round out the record, ranging from spiritual jazz to psych-skronk drip. The remaining pair work as palette cleansers, a two-part party package that breaks up the record, while offering up the slickest slices of sweat in the bunch.
The band opens with “Arise,” a showcase for the band’s hues of Hot Rats and ecstatic atmospheres. The prices prickle with rhythm and ride guitars like a wave, but more than anything, they’re alive with the sound of voices; high and soulful melodies, emphatic shouts, and the clatter of street life. It gives the album a communal square quality, a feeling that’s inverted and increased through the studio funk and fusion of “Borracho.” The second pairing, “Money” is more restrained, a theatrical set that pulls from the past, echoing through shades of Popera Cosmic’s best days. The album closes with a syrup bled blues, coming across like memories of Pink Floyd passed down through oral tradition It’s been a few years since the Faryds have hit the speakers, but it’s clear they’ve been at the cauldron and cooking. The new record should sate the fans that have been ready and waiting for the past few years, but there’s no bad entry point for the Faryds, so feel free to work your way back from Ipnagogico or work your way up. A top jazz opener to 2026.
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