Album review: KINKY WIZZARDS – Quirky Musings

KINKY WIZZARDS - Quirky Musings

White Knight Records [Release date 31.03.17]

In recent years we’ve enjoyed several artists or bands who have purveyed an infectious brand of instrumental-based prog rock, inspired by jazz fusion or just plain inspired. Amongst them the likes of Norway’s Pymlico and Italy’s Phoenix Again.

Kinky Wizzards are a jazz rock trio from Wales and they’ve been touring with prog rockers Magenta (and to whom they now supply their drummer Jonathan Griffiths). Their second album Quirky Musings might be appropriately titled. The album freely mixes jazz and funk flavours and would appeal to anyone who appreciates the likes of Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats and Cosmosquad.

The band also have a penchant for weird track titles such as ‘Kinky Joe From Mexico’s Burritos’ and ‘Door Dancing Penny Collector’, the latter featuring Terry Quinney’s sax. This aspect also seems to be a theme amongst similarly progressive bands (The Parallax Method come to mind with their recent squid fixation).

Tracks like ‘Done With This Place’ and ‘Stompfoot Syndrome’ remind me of Lenny White’s more commercial sorties when Jamie Glaser held sway on guitar whilst ‘Chocolate Teapot’ perfectly demonstrates this band’s blend of purposeful and infectious funk.

Accessible, refreshing, and rather groovy. ****1/2

Review by David Randall

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