Jerseyband: Lung Punch Fantasy

Relying as much on furious explosions of saxophone and uncompromising tenor/baritone melodies as crunches of distortion and choppy metal riffs, the seven members of horn-heavy conglomeration Jerseyband faithfully fulfill their self-bestowed description of being pioneers of “lungcore.”

Lung Punch Fantasy is a live album — and an excellently mixed one at that — that doubles as the group’s first release of new material since 2003. Contained in the album’s nine tracks are wild jazz-time grooves that are surrounded by flittering fits of trumpet befitting “Flight of the Bumblebee,” diminished, semi-sludgy guitar work that incorporates squealing rock riffs and harmonics, and numerous ventures into genre hopping.

The guitar isn’t responsible for all the chug moments; rather, the saxophones often lay the stop-start foundation for all else to create blissful, harmonized sonic mayhem. Lung Punch Fantasy is a wonderfully seedy mixture of brass and dirtiness that isn’t too far removed from the conceptuality of Mr. Bungle or John Zorn’s Naked City material.

The few drawbacks — a spoken-word breakdown in head-banging opener “Sheffield’s Law” and a guilty-pleasure ska moment in “Sangwich” — can’t derail it from its exceptional course. It’s now time to hear what the guys from Jerseyband, who have shared the stage with fellow aural adventurers Estradasphere, can do with a proper studio effort (and possibly a name change).

- Scott Morrow
Jerseyband