You’re going to be surprised, albeit ultimately pleasantly, when you take a spin on Snarky Puppy leader Michael Leagues solo album. If you were expecting a groove or jam fest, look somewhere else. Here, the famed leader and bassist/composer reflectively reflects a different color of his musical prism, creating hazy soundscapes with frothy synth layers around his introspective voice and lyrics. League plays everything on the album, emphasizing both vocal and instrumental harmony with spacy whispers and Eno-esque ambience of support.
His soft voice is “instrumental” at completing the tapestry, as on the multi-hued “Sentinel Species” or the oozy effects of the indie-ish “Me, Like You”. There are plenty of solo voices teamed with multi-layered choral support with a world beat of “Fireside” or spacey “Best Of All Time”.
Most alluring is when League’s bass takes charge as on the upbeat and soulful “In Your Mouth”, or with some Tom Waits-ish percussion opening up to the dreamy vocals on “Touch Me”.” Undulating keyboards work well with almost hazy Bee Gees harmony on the floating “Right Where I Fall”. In an arena, where the Pups usually play, this might not keep one’s attention, but in a small jazzy club, it will work wonders.