“Gunslinga,” the opening track from The Mushroom Cloud’s latest release, Air Raid, begins with stabs from an electric guitar, alternating between the lowest note in the chord and the chord itself. It’s enough to get a foot tapping. With a chromatic triplet, it fleshes out the groove. The drums and bass join in. An organ completes the sound, creating a mood for guitar, bass, and drums to explore together, soloing and coming together, wandering away but always coming back.
Whether the New Haven-based band is intentionally making a subtle nod to Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” with that intro, or whether it’s just a happy accident, is beside the point. The Mushroom Cloud isn’t looking for that kind of comparison. But “Gunslinga” takes a page from the handbook of the Experience and Band of Gypsies as the three band members — Paul Harris on guitar, synth, and vocals, Russ Harris on drums, and Charlie Mazur on bass and vocals — figure out just how much can be done when they deploy their musical talents with intelligence and sly humor in the service of extended jams. The result is a sound that feels full but nonetheless leaves plenty of space to grow.
And grow the songs do. “Sinister Snitch” features guest vocalist Coco Michelle, whose voice is front and center, and “Find Your Nietzsche” finds the members of the trio singing as well. But with the album’s shortest song clocking in at nearly six minutes, Air Raid is really about the jams — and, it turns out, the band is quite good at it. Using organic changes in tempo and texture, The Mushroom Cloud never forget to keep it danceable and interesting.
So the song “Air Raid” starts with a staccato guitar line, but then moves flowing keyboards that, in turn, affect the drums and bass, which move from syncopated funkiness to a straight-ahead dance groove. The middle third of the song is nearly pastoral — until, at the five-minute mark, a distorted guitar bursts onto the scene, bringing bass and drums with it to rock out. Not even this, however, prevents the jam from coming full circle, back to the jazzy funk that it started with. It’s surprising, fun, and smart.
The album’s closer, “Telescopes,” is also maybe its most vibey, as it builds a single set of ideas over its duration, bringing guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards together to create one of the album’s most expansive soundscapes. It’s a fitting end to Air Raid, as its stew of rock, funk, jazz, and electronica keeps both feet and thoughts moving, together.
