Review Summary: Blending smooth jazz, goovy electronic drum lines, and tasteful synths, Skalpel's debut album is a downtempo masterpiece that transcends any definitive classification. Let's just say it will knock your socks off.
I never hear people talk about Skalpel here, but apparently it's because I'm not Polish. DJs Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo are something bordering on national heroes in their homeland, and have been featured on some of the most prestigious mixtapes and award shows in the history of Poland's musical scene.
That said, they're entirely deserving of it.
Skalpel's overall sound is really the halfway point between the classic jazz artists we all know and love here in America: Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis, to name a few, and electronica of the trip-hop variety, probably best characterized by Bristol bands like Massive Attack and Portishead. The resulting mixture is a very laid-back, cathartic drum tempo mixed beneath jazz samplings original compositions, as well as sparse, jazzy vocals. If one had to disgrace this self-titled album with a single genre tag, I'd go for "Nu-Jazz". However, I believe it's truly more than that.
This is music, people, straight up music. And music, as an entity, does not bend well when overly classified.
One of the characteristics throughout the whole of the album is the clear presence of an upright bass. It is one of very few constants in every song, and is at sometimes even dominating in its foregrounded position. However, it's tasteful lines and perfect alignment with the groove of every song make its place well deserved. Small clips of spoken word are scattered throughout Skalpel like a chef tossing thimble-fulls of basil into a simmering stew, and the help both set the tone and provide surreal moments of understanding to an otherwise abstract album.
My only slight grievance with Skalpel's debut is how, in the body of the album, songs flow into each other and start sounding too similar. The album breaks from this trend during the song "Break In", but soon lapses again until the closing song, "Sculpture".
I'll just throw this out there, I think it's better than Konfusion, and even though Skalpel's sophomore effort is far more recognized than their self-titled, anyone who has heard this work will surely agree with me. A tremendously enjoyabale album.
