Australian composer and producer Dan Webb draws on Taoist and Buddhist ideas of death and rebirth for his fifth album, Lion Dance, an instrumental collaboration with musicians whose credits span work with Prince, David Bowie, Radiohead, Thundercat, and the Rolling Stones. Written following Webb’s move from Melbourne to Singapore, the record moves through psychedelic rock, jazz, electronic experimentation, and funk.
“Soup on the Bridge of Oblivion” opens the album with wonderfully expressive charisma, expanding from sturdy rhythms and sporadic yet impactful guitars into a more full-bodied fervor, with brassy grandiosity and bursting, soaring psych-rock guitars melding with artful entrancement. Conceptually, it plays as the beginning of the transformation from life to death; the title references the broth that is said to erase memory before reincarnation. “Things Rise and Fall” ensues, continuing that process of crossing over, here with dexterous jazzy percussion, playful keys, Logan Kane’s standout bass work, and the emergence of heartrending strings.
“The Self Watches Their Return” follows, continuing this magnetic start with a dynamic display, beginning with a rush of synths and driving to a riveting midpoint display of brass-led triumph and hypnotic bass. Nicole McCabe’s alto saxophone is especially consuming. Elsewhere, “Lemongrass” is a lovely, balanced combination of spacey synths and grooving, jazzy inclinations, showcasing fantastic musicianship while bringing together the talents of Michael Bland, Tim Lefebvre, Dennis Hamm, and Nate Werth. “Dragon Playground” instead struts a bustling rock edge, with funk, blues, and jazz incorporations making for one of the album’s most head-nodding successes. Logan Kane’s dexterous bass playing again impresses here. Lion Dance is a dynamic, captivating success of an album from Dan Webb, who also caught our ears back in 2023 with the album Sunshine/Dialogue.
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“Things Rise and Fall” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
