The Paint Movement wishes you a very jazzy summer
It’s probably obvious from my Stones post, but the thing I love most about summer is putting music on and letting it wash over me. The best music for this, in my opinion, is a combination of raunchy rock, funk, soul, blues and jazz. I dip heavily into what I guess you’d call “oldies” at this time of year. But in the early days of what I assume is going to be another sweltering southern Ontario summer, I’ve been digging something from this decade with a retro feel.
The Paint Movement is from Mississauga. I guess if you’re from suburbia you either want to move away or make the most of it. Their first album, Our Eurythmy, is the most. The sweeping, layered rock movements fuse so seamlessly from indie rock into jazzy funk/soul digressions that I’m sure you’ll be grooving right along, enjoying some fine indie rock when all of a sudden, you’ll think “Holy frijole! I’m listening to a jazz song!” Don’t worry, jazzbos. We won’t tell anybody that you like it. It’s our little secret.
Groovy Bones is easily my favourite song from the album, out now on Nevado Records. It doesn’t even bother to disguise itself. It just blasts you with horns and percussion, announcing its jazz affiliation early. But the subtle touches of soul put it in another category. After a blazing drum solo, you get a hint of a smooth guitar riff that leads you unawares into a full-on horn assault. I like it when groups can surprise me and The Paint Movement does. Frequently.
It’s like listening to Broken Social Scene duel with the Menahan Street Band. But where Broken Social Scene and Menahan revel in being of a certain place and time, The Paint Movement feel less tethered to a location. I’ve only ever been through Mississauga on my way to somewhere else more exciting, so maybe that’s on purpose.
Here’s what I really think about the Paint Movement: The jazz parts are excellent. They aren’t fooling around. They really know their stuff. I am impressed. The indie parts are fine but… that’s it. They’ve been reluctantly compared to Broken Social Scene in almost every review I’ve read. That’s great, but I want them to break out of those comparisons because I think they’ve got something entirely different going on with the fusion of indie and jazz. They’re making me wade out, sticking my toes in when I want to dive into the deep funk/soul/jazz vibe. The world needs more Medeski Martin & Wood-esque groups. Memo to the Paint Movement: This could be you.
Anyway, I definitely don’t mean to detract because I really love this and can’t wait to hear more as they develop. The soft brush drumming on Cat’s Meow is fantastic and I dig the sax and trumpet that snake in and lend songs like Faults and Knock Knock their vibrant, jazzy flavour – then again, I always think there should be more trumpet. The wish of a biased horn player? Maybe, but what’re you going to do about it?
The Paint Movement plays the Ebar tomorrow night in Guelph with Bass Lions at 8 p.m.
As a special treat because I love that you love live music, I have two pairs of tickets and two copies of Our Eurythmy to give away to the first two people to send me an email at tanisfowler@gmail.com. C’mon guys! Let’s give some stuff away! Free stuff!
