THE DRIFT – blue hour – CD

Blue Hour is the first release by The Drift since the passing of their indelible trumpet player, Jeff Jacobs, but his spirit is undeniably present throughout the album. Without a doubt their most meditative release since their Travels In Constants debut, Blue Hour eases off the jazz and dub influences that had become a trademark of The Drift’s sound, and instead focuses on hypnotic repetition and subtle, textural layering of guitars, keyboards, electric bass and drums. Beautiful, fragile melodies descend into sheets of noise atop an unwavering lockstep groove, and the near-silence of a single bass note becomes alternately haunting and near transcendent. It is a cathartic memorial to a dear friend and invaluable collaborator, and the perfect beginning to a new chapter in The Drift’s resilient story.