Lettuce
Fly
New York, NY
(Velour Recordings)
“Futuristic funk, re-envisioning urban sound with technical prowess.”
The fractured, sopping sounds of Jamaican dub meet an old Stax record on a crowded street corner in New York City, amidst the dawn of disco, boom bap, and Funkadelic. It may be surprising to learn that 7 Berklee graduates from the ’90s have captured this moment in time and transported it into the present. This is Lettuce. Their new album Fly delivers funk that breathes with time and echoes into the future.
Heavy reverb and delay saddle alongside a Funkadelic sense of style in the record’s title and opening track. “Fly” was recorded all-analog to two-inch tape. The song vamps leisurely, dripping with the resonance of a dub side of funk. Fly is full of unwaveringly deep pockets and bold, blaring horns. The band takes the time to let you feel more of what you might have missed in their last album Rage! – that Lettuce flair. Music snobs can dig, and young folks can dance.
For the only cover on the album, Lettuce folds nicely into a decades-old War track, “Slippin’ Into Darkness”. Crisp, clean horn lines allow Lettuce’s guitar-led rhythm section to leap out. Crisp, clean horn lines allow Lettuce’s guitar-led rhythm section to leap out. Other stand-out tracks include “Ziggowatt,” “Madison Square,” and “Do It Like You Do.”
Recorded by John Davis at Bunker Studios, Brooklyn
Mastered by Scott Hull and John Davis at Masterdisk, NYC
www.lettucefunk.com
Megalomandee
