Album Review: Dusk Dept. - Dusk Dept.

Dusk Dept.

ST

***and1/2 out of *****

The debut, self-titled album from Dusk Dept. arrives with a bunch of mystery. Wanting the music to speak for itself, the musicians go by nicknames as the funky beats, jazzy excursion, popping brass and hip shaking good times roll out over six extended tracks. 

Recorded live by the band at Gold-Diggers in Los Angeles, CA, the Dusk Dept. want listeners to have a funky good time. Not completely incognito, the core group contains members of funk/jazz groups, Snarky Puppy, Ghost-Note and Dumpstaphunk, mixing rich jazz fusion with heavy New Orleans based funk.

The album begins with "Kilometers Davis" as the band announce their presence via a piano introduction, before upbeat pumping funk as smooth horns glide over deep bass. The soloing continues as the track moves on, increasing the fusion vibe as the players get loose, pushing the song forward in cool fashion. Vocalist Adryon De León drops in on "Cut You Loose" delivering sultry singing  before extended solos, but the track would hit harder edited down as it runs on too long. 

Better is the chilled out lounge effort "Dream Scheme (feat. Kateri Farrell)" which delivers great percussion, wah-wah work, synths and echoing flute over the extended jazz leaning outing. The funk flavor is increased on a few tracks such as "Rich & Sexy" which uses clean guitar strums, piano, and horn hits while "Russst" has more dynamite horn work, funky bass, keys, and a trumpet solo as the tune builds to a climax. 

The album ends with "Sneakums" the longest effort that finds friends Nicholas Payton and Robert "Sput" Searight helping out. The extended track is the most jazz fusion effort, running over eleven minutes as the expanded band move around the polished drums, synths, horns, as the effort can be a bit too clean at times, but still engaging. 

Designed as a jazzy/funky soundtrack for late night dance parties, Dusk Dept. deliver their get-down wares with professionalism, cloaked in mystery.  

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