Explosive jazz-funk album ‘Near-Earth Objects’ by London outfit The Boom Yeh has landed

Near-earth objects, or N:E.O.s, are cosmic rocks similar to asteroids or comets that hit the earth almost every day, and while it’s not every day that an explosive jazz-funk record lands, the impact of London outfit The Boom Yeh‘s new album Near-Earth Objects makes it anyway a suitable title.  

 

The British sextet is led by guitarist Jon Speedy, and contains musicians who have worked with the likes of Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Alice Russell and Leroy Hutson, so although Near-Earth Objects is merely the second studio album by this outfit, the experience of its members is decidedly vast. 

 

The sound of The Boom Yeh is made of catchy melodies and tight arrangements, and can be defined as cosmic jazz-funk, brassy, spacey and with numerous references to past giants of the genres, which emerge insistently from the 8 instrumental tracks of Near-Earth Objects.

 

Album opener “Keep Right On” is a detonation of syncopated jazz-funk that recalls The Brecker Brothers or Tower Of Power, “Pocket Rocket” draws freely from the funk of George Clinton and his Parliament-Funkadelic, title track “Near-Earth Objects” recalls the universe of Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters and “Mind’s Eye” is a lush slice of fusion with echoes of Lonnie Liston Smith or The Mizells.

Much more than a tribute, Near-Earth Objects is a journey through the nuances of groove, from jazz-funk, to funk-rock soul-jazz and fusion, where in addition to proving themselves to be prodigious musicians, The Boom Yeh also demonstrate their skill in recalling a musical genre without ever sounding obvious.

 

Stream it here.

 

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