Al Swainger’s Pointless Beauty Return With Exciting New Single ‘Relentless’
Bristol based Progressive-Jazz collective Al Swainger’s Pointless Beauty return with the new single ‘Relentless’ and we’re excited to be running the premiere!
Musically complex and exhilarating with an undertone of melancholy, ‘Relentless’ is instrumental jazz at its very best.
Blending elements of Electronica, Prog and Chillout over a Jazz backbone, the 5-piece manage to create a truly engrossing and at times overwhelming soundscape.
Showcasing the kind of multifaceted, forward-thinking Jazz soundscape that the band has been known for, the band blend airy synths, bright keys, dappled fast-moving guitar lines, and infectiously catchy brass that flow effortlessly over the tight, up tempo bass and drums.
Speaking about the single, the band leader and composer Al Swainger explains: “Relentless is a reflection on how technology in particular has reshaped our lives. We’ve become expected to be permanently ‘on’ and to present a constantly happy and successful front.
We have been trained to feel uncomfortable if people can’t contact us at all times through mobile phones and social media by willfully encouraging FOMO as a societal sales tactic. The hard part is that this behaviour genuinely is fun up to a point. The big downside is that our mental health can suffer as a result.
Trying to live up to the expectations of a relentlessly performative life will inevitably show the cracks sooner or later. I wanted to reflect on both sides of that experience with this piece of music. There’s even a hidden morse code message for the particularly keen of ear.”
Full of virtuoso performances across the whole band, ‘Relentless’ is an invigorating listen, giving an exciting taste of what to expect across the upcoming album which is due June 1st via Other Compass Records.
