The GAB Trio – The GAB Album
(Prime Finish Information TGT01CD. Album evaluate by Bruce Lindsay)

The GAB Album, recorded in sooner or later on the Cowshed studio, is the debut album from The GAB Trio, a band that’s been enjoying dwell, largely round London, for a few years. Guitarist, composer and bandleader Clement Regert might be best-known to jazz audiences for his function in Wild Card, a flexible group centred on Regert, drummer Sophie Alloway and organist Andrew Noble. The GAB Trio is a quite completely different kettle of fish, when it comes to line-up and instrumentation, though the duvet artwork for this, the trio’s debut album, does share some design options with the paintings to be discovered on Wild Card albums whereas the older band’s love of working with visitor artists carries over to wonderful impact onto The GAB Album.

The GAB Trio has the considerably uncommon line-up of two nylon-strung guitars, performed by Regert and Gianluca Corona, together with Cajon and extra percussion from Steve Taylor. Regert describes its music as “an audience-friendly mixture of flamenco/Brazilian infused tunes and reworked pop numbers.” Regert is liable for the unique tunes (co-writing “L’aube” with Corona and Bea Asurmendi). The 4 reworked pop numbers are all well-known, coming from the oeuvres of the Eurythmics, Weapons ‘n’ Roses, Radiohead and Nirvana, though the GAB Trio provides each a contemporary and authentic remedy. Three visitor musicians be part of the trio: Josie Frater provides guitar to Regert’s pacey “12 Labours” (and there additionally appear to be some uncredited wordless vocals there, too). Asurmendi sings on Radiohead’s “Exit (music for a movie)” and “L’aube,” for which she additionally wrote the lyrics, whereas Josie Frater provides lead and backing vocals to Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart’s “Right here Comes the Rain Once more.” All three make beneficial contributions to the general sound.

“Right here Comes the Rain Once more” is the duvet model that stays closest to the unique, albeit in a extra spacious and laid again association, with Frater’s vocals extra restrained than Lennox’s whereas the way in which she sings “Doo doo doo do” is genuinely uplifting. The trio’s instrumental model of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” strips away Nirvana’s aggression and energy to create an altogether much less threatening, extra light-hearted, listening expertise. The originals typically comply with what is perhaps termed the “cool and seductive” method: the closing quantity could also be titled “Manic Section,” nevertheless it’s a really calm and melodic sort of mania that’s on provide. The trio open with “The GAB Theme,” which could possibly be taken as one thing of an announcement of intent, its sprightly rhythm and engaging melody delivered by nylon-strung guitar and Cajon setting the tone for a lot of the remaining music.

It could be a depressing winter’s day exterior, however with “The GAB Album” on the stereo, its heat and sunny indoors.

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LINKS: GAB Trio album launch on the 606 Membership / 22 February
Clement Regert’s web site