Modern Nature – “Pharaoh”

Thrilled to see Modern Nature back at it with a new record due later in the year. Jack Cooper’s constantly evolving ensemble has produced some of the most interesting and ambitious records of the past few years. From jazz-folk fusions, to large-scale concept albums built around immediacy and improvisation, Modern Nature refuses to rest comfortably in any niche you want to dig out for them. The band has largely been Cooper’s to command, with the last album expanding its boundaries further than ever, an island of turbulence and tumultuousness built from Jack’s studio prompts. The ensemble was large for the last record, but it’s follow-up sees Modern Nature slimmed down to a core four, including Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers) and Jim Wallis who have been integral over the years, and new guitarist Tara Cunningham, who collaborated with Cooper on a cassette fo Mossy Tapes earlier in the year.

The first single feels like Modern Nature operating as a unit, a dynamic organism in symbiotic harmony. The propulsion remains, as always a constant anchor point for Modern Nature. Guitars brush at jazz, the atmosphere glances through the pastoral prog that’s been an inspiration in the past, but this time the voices gain a new alchemy that elevates “Pharaoh,” and its wariness of enigmatic personalities, to new heights. The new record, The Heat Warps, is out August 29th from Bella Union.

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