Supernaut, Oliver Niemann (guitar); Will Iermini (bass) and Sean Niemann (drums), hail from Santa Cruz, California and have in the past released albums, "Supernaut", "The Green" and "Soul Awaken", that have been notable for their vocal parts however the album we are reviewing today is a collection of instrumental jams all recorded in one session which the band have dubbed "No Mind Volume I",
"No Mind Volume I" is basically four smaller pieces bookended by two sprawling epics, the first of those epics being "Ronin", a song that retains a prog-like funkishness throughout its tenure and uses this as its platform to launch off on convoluted flights into instrumental cosmicness, O.Niemann's guitar is the main focus throughout, his constantly ascending/descending solos, his shard like chord progressions and his delicate tonal textures are what most listeners will come away remembering but if you dig deeper and isolate O.Niemann's contributions from your mind you will also discover a really tight rhythm section going hell for leather underneath, Iermini's bass work a mix of growling funkiness and liquid jazziness, S.Niemann's drumming tight solid and swinging. For the albums next jam "Pizza Basement" Supernaut go for a more metallic riff orientated dynamic which they played at a breakneck tempo, if we have one complaint about this song it is that it finishes far too early. "Cold Waters Of The North" is next, a chugging, stuttering groover decorated in spacious guitar texturing that sees the songs fade out signalling the fade in of the next track "Wake The Dead" a brief but enjoyable jam built around a groove heavily reliant on Iermini and S.Niemann's rhythmic prowess. Second to last we have "Bestill" an eerie mood piece that utilizes raked and hit guitar and bass strings echoing over achingly sedate rhythmic patterns and has the feel of one of Ornette Coleman's more avant-garde jazz compositions. Final jam "Lizard City" mixes its grooves between stoner(ish) psych and funky space rock and sees O.Niemann layering over those grooves a blend of textures and colours that range from screaming bluesiness through to lysergic languidity while also managing to visit all stops in-between.
Whatever it was that drove Supernaut to ditch the vocals and go down the fully instrumental route for "No Mind Vol.I " (and its soon to be released follow up "No Mind Vol. II") is a question best asked of the band themselves but whatever it was that informed that decision there is no getting away from the fact that these are some intense, mind-melting jams played by three musicians at the very top of their game.
Check it out ...
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