Rich Ruth – “No Muscle, No Memory”

The Third Man debut from Rich Ruth was one of my favorites when it hit in 2022. An elevated vision of jazz fusion and psychedelic sorcery, the record turned trauma into into indelible grooves. This time around Rich aims to transform the anxieties of touring into a turbulent album that threads his spiritual jazz sentiments through heady drones, kosmiche waves, and darker atmospheres than he’d explored on his last album. The first cut brings these elements to light right from the start, bubbling with anxiety, chewed and chafed by Rich’s guitar, a dazzling first shot that hooks the listener into the new album. The record features some familiar names that help flesh out Ruth’s world — RSTB fave Spencer Cullum returns on pedal steel, with flautist Sam Que, drummer Ruben Gingrich, violinist Patrick M’gonigle, and saxophonist Jared Selner helping to turn Rich’s anxieties into jazz-psych seances. The new record, Water Still Flows, is out June 21st from Third Man.

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