Grex is the Oakland-based duo of Karl Evangelista and Rei Scampavia whose music blends free jazz, noise, and spoken word. Grex might be a hard sell for the average fan of contemporary classical music, but curious listeners will surely be rewarded. On September 5, 2020, they will release their fifth album, Everything You Said Was Wrong (Geomancy Records). Although the album generally falls more into the art rock and experimental world, it is not too far away from some of the free jazz and experimental work that exists on the fringes of contemporary classical music.
Grex–Photo by Lenny Gonzalez
The opener, “KD,” is a manifesto for the rest of the album. Grex has said this is likely to be their last recording as collaborators and write that this is a “final, incendiary salvo at a world unwilling to confront contrarian change…and the intrinsic difficulty of living in a city that is given over to economic inequity, social injustice, and rapid change.” In “KD,” a frantic bass line that would not be out of place in a bebop combo is supported by drumset, keyboard, and electronics. Evangelista repeats, “Baby, I’m a goner,” over and over again, referring to the collapse of a nation, his own musical group, or possibly both. The track ends with dual (or triple) guitar solos, overlaid on top of each other, perhaps in conversation, or perhaps trying to drown each other out.
Everything You Said Was Wrong is an album that has its feet in many different worlds. There are moments that come from the industrial and noise rock traditions, others that nod to the relationship between free jazz and contemporary classical, and even more that refer to indie hip-hop and slam poetry. This musical pluralism is an effect that works both to Grex’s benefit and disadvantage. Their wide breadth of influences gives the duo an expanded range of material and references to work with, such as the many twists and turns of “Jin’s Run.” Grex is at their best when they craft compositions that seamlessly blend their many diverse influences (“Moon Baby”, “Feather Chaser”, and “Margot Tenenbaum”). Those seamless moments are not marked by an “everything but the kitchen sink” mentality, but rather, one that is through-composed while sounding spontaneous and improvised. In “The Other Mouses,” for example, complex and surprising harmonies are complemented by a lo-fi drum machine against Scampavia’s vocals, which move somewhere between pop and spoken word. All of this gives way to noisy and feedback-laden guitar.
Grex–Photo by Lenny Gonzalez
Each individual track works quite well on its own, but in viewing the record as a complete work (because this has a vinyl release, it is fair to assume we can approach things in that way), the intended cohesion tends to get lost. The transition from “Criminal” to “Moon Baby” is a good example. The jagged aggression of Evangelista’s vocals in the former are not given any particular new context by their juxtaposition to the pop sensibilities of the latter. Similarly, the moments that seem to be focused on one particular sound world do not have the same excitement and wonder of not knowing what might be around the next corner, like the hip-hop/slam poetry of “Criminal,” or the extended solo at the end of “Ikiki.” These criticisms, however, should not be taken as a warning against multi-genre experimentation. An artistic risk that does not have the desired effect is still more interesting than one that is too carefully measured.
The liner notes to Everything You Said Was Wrong read: “For Ayler, the rats, & everything that happened.” Grex could not have better described an album that aims to sum up the entire working history of a musical group in about 45 minutes. There are for sure references to the experimental jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, but this is also music that deliberately references every influence of the musicians involved. What truly makes this music special is the sense that it is deeply personal and unique to the story of the creators themselves. It is a rare achievement for a collection of music to make the listener feel as if they have been able to drop in on the creative process, even if that process does not always make perfect sense.
