Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The Waifs & Strays we find along life’s path are arguably more adapt to change and less likely to resist the beat of the consumer driven sound of the pure-bred, they have a knack for companionship in the darkest times, they are the light that fills a room with beauty, thought and sentiment; the waifs and strays are the ones that you come across and cannot but help love. Your mind may be on the one that ticks every box but sometimes you have to look beyond the expected and admire the difference that those who celebrate diversity and the in tune losing of one’s way can provide.
The soundscape that Jazz encompasses will always divide opinion, there will be those that feel uneasy in the genre’s ability to see the tangent in the distance and find ways to arrive there without a strict progression, others though will see the humanity, the human essence that a detour and instrumental diversion can bring, the warmth, the sincerity of living in the heart of a different beat.
This influence is at the very centre of Scottish sensation Fat-Suit, the broadness and scope of the music is enough to take your breath away, whilst the skill and free flowing movement leads the listener’s mind down paths trodden before by the likes of Brand X, versatile, consistent, yet alluring and indefinable; such is the majesty and relentless signature of the band.
To be a waif and stray means to stand out, to not be placed inside someone else’s conviction, for that is the realm of heresy when it comes to Jazz. However, it also means to have ambition, to recognise that above you may be limitless but that you also want to stretch yourself physically and emotionally; waifs and strays do not stagnate, they flourish in all weathers. It is the consensual appreciation and understanding of life that tracks such as Keo, Countryside Quiet, Caretaker, Mom and Mombasa take issue with inactivity, with the sluggish demands of the unvarying and seemingly perfect.
The impact of Fat-Suit’s Waifs & Strays must not be discounted or dismissed, instead it should be thought of as a moment of the dynamic lightning bolt illuminating the surrounding area and leaving its scorch mark on the ground as a marker for all to witness. An album of sizeable impact, Waifs & Strays is the scamp who delivers.
Ian D. Hall