Jasper Marsalis was a member of the uncategorizable Brooklyn ensemble
Standing on the Corner before he left around 2018 and concentrated on his solo work. His first full-length as
Slauson Malone, the dense, dizzying
A Quiet Farwell, 2016-2018, appeared in 2019 as part of a larger project called Crater Speak that encompassed two further EPs and an art book. After contributing to albums by artists such as
L'Rain,
Pink Siifu, and
Nosaj Thing,
Slauson Malone signed to
Warp and curiously appended the numeral "1" to the project's name. Label debut
Excelsior is another vulnerable expression of raw truth that takes dozens of listens to begin to decipher, but it's entirely worth the effort. Less claustrophobic and jumpscare-prone than the collage-like
A Quiet Farwell,
Excelsior is just as poetic and uncompromising, and feels more intimate and direct in some ways. It's heavier on guitars and live instrumentation rather than samples, and resembles avant-rock more than hip-hop, if one feels the need to draw genre lines. "The Weather" begins with stretched, decayed tape loops similar to the lo-fi sound of the project's first album, joined by flowing strings and bitter, slowly paced words. This leads into the fractured drum machines and Auto-Tuned verses of "House Music," gradually twisting the vocals in different directions over airy guitar strums. After the sparse, fragmented, mostly acoustic "Olde Joy," "New Joy" has ecstatic tempo shifts and fuzzy distortion, yet also has its more reserved moments, particularly the verses. "Half-Life" snaps into a more hook-driven rhythm from a delicate cello and guitar intro, and continues shifting form as the lyrics ponder earthly struggles and death. A drum roll and explosive horn freak-out precede a magnificent cover of
Joe Meek's "I Hear a New World," populated by gloriously grotesque alien voices. Several of the remaining cuts mix dub with baroque pop and psychedelia, with a reoccurring reggae drum fill popping up across multiple tracks. "No! (Geiger Dub)" features a variation of the "Sleng Teng" Casio bassline, along with cruising horns and harpsichord flourishes. "Divider" has ASMR-style whispers and a sporadic synth sequence directly inspired by
Wendy Carlos. "Decades, Castle Romeo" strips down to mainly guitar, vocals, and cello, but is filled with jarring dynamic shifts and emotional rushes. More accessible than past
Slauson Malone releases,
Excelsior is still a strange, mysterious creation that warrants extensive, engrossed listening. ~ Paul Simpson
