It seems unfair to reduce the work of New Freedom Sound to some sort of Jawbox spin-off. Sure, drummer Zach Barocas is the ringleader here, and J. Robbins is present too, along with cellist and Jawbox interpreter Gordon Withers, but Eight Freedoms is so much more than just a side gig. This wildly expansive music, captured here on this new record from Arctic Rodeo Recordings, exists in a space to the left of free jazz and maybe to the right of post-punk. It's silly to even attempt to place this set of reworked pieces and new ones squarely in a genre as genre labels are for squares anyway. Eight Freedoms blows the mind the way the best Mingus and Oliver Nelson compositions continue to.
The circular patterns of the opener, "Fourth Freedom" create an effect that's enthralling, while the rhythmic breakdowns of "Third Freedom" center this in the neighborhood of material from Damon Locks and crew. There's an elegance here to the keyboard lines by J. Robbins, but it's Mark Cisneros and his horns who propels this into the stratosphere. The tension between the cello and piano and the drums and sax, for example, is thrilling. Partly post-rock, I suppose, there's also something else going on. Barocas has created a space where players can riff, sure, but also plenty of quiet spaces where things veer into new directions, or bursts of pure jazz come out of those horns. Five players sound like a big band more often than not on Eight Freedoms.
These freedoms are not in order so "Eighth Freedom" anchors the record near its mid-point. A blazing, thumping force carries this one forward, with all the players, and basic vocals adding to the power here. Woodwinds by Cisneros lighten the mood, but Withers' cello patterns are heavy, and the drumming from Barocas smartly basic. Things reach a kind of woozy peak as the entire apparatus spins this selection around like a top winding down on the floor. There's a sense that the players are being carried by the tune, until things clear, and Cisneros signals a new charge on the saxophone. This is very precise stuff at times, even as it also feels bravely unmoored.
Ultimately, New Freedom Sound chart their own path. Swatches of this will sound almost like classical music, but the jazz base is strong. Eight Freedoms, as a set, is extraordinary. Percussive and contemplative, there are spaces here to get lost in, and others where the sounds of the world are drowned out by pure sound. Each player has moments here to shine, but this is finally the work of a collective, with every single piece of instrumentation playing a part in pushing things forward into the sun. At their best, New Freedom Sound pull back some kind of curtain and create music that feels like it's being birthed before us. Leader Zach Barocas lets this material breathe and even morph as it progresses. Nothing else in 2022 will transport you to the place that's been mapped out here by New Freedom Sound on Eight Freedoms.
Eight Freedoms is out on Friday via Arctic Rodeo Recordings.
"Eleventh Freedom" below is on this release.