The core trio of Scree – Ryan El-Solh on guitar, Carmen Quill on bass, and Jason Burger on drums – have already released an EP (Slow Bloom), two live albums (Live at the Owl and Live at the Owl, Vol. 2) and a full-length studio album (Jasmine on a Night in July), all exploring dark, ruminative corners of jazz and, according to their press materials, “kept cultural memory and tradition at the center of their creative vision”. With their latest studio offering, August, their vision expands considerably, in large part due to an array of additional musicians, which truly widens the scope of their sound.
Assisting the trio on August are Ivan Arteaga on clarinet, Levon Henry on alto clarinet and tenor saxophone, Zosha Warpeha on violin, David Balatero on cello, Luke Bergman on pedal steel, and Ari Chersky, the record’s producer, on various instruments. With this expanded lineup, Scree move across the boundaries of its inspiration, including romantic classical, indie rock, large-scale, orchestral jazz, with inventive arrangements that translate into stunning results. As with previous releases, El-Solh handles the lion’s share of the songwriting (the exception being the brief interlude “Shadows in the Library”, co-written with Burger).
Opening with the dark strains of El-Solh’s reverb-soaked electric guitar on “Lethe”, the ensemble’s sound is tentative, dark, and slightly menacing, with a drone-like touch. It serves as a fitting introduction before most of the players are brought in for “Zikra”, an ambitious, suite-like piece where the beginning section’s melodies and gait recall Ennio Morricone‘s spaghetti western soundtracks before a middle section gives the song a wailing, improvisational free-jazz vibe (followed by a brief, gorgeous, and beguiling string attack). The broader palette of musicians gives Scree the ability to move beyond the trio format into something with seemingly infinite possibilities.
For example, the soulful, gospel-inspired balladry of “Either Way” is spellbinding in its melodic excursions, and would probably sound perfectly fine with the core trio, but the addition of horns, strings, and the occasional effects glitches uplift the tune. However, El-Solh’s impassioned soloing alongside Quill and Burger’s nimble rhythm section is the emotional high point.
Part of the joy in experiencing August is the unpredictable twists and turns that pop up everywhere: the loping gait of “TV Sometimes” evolves into a middle section that emphasizes the curious combination of twangy guitar, pedal steel, and keyboards, evoking a bit of experimental Americana that Wilco might conjure up in the early 2000s. By the same token, “Season 2” begins with an unusual sequence of violin, loops, and glockenspiel, before the core trio arrives with a lumbering yet tuneful sequence.
The album’s finest moment may be in the closing track, a soulful ballad that sees El-Solh doubling on electric and acoustic guitars, giving the song more sonic depth. While the song’s arrangement is somewhat more straightforward than the record’s knottier moments, the ebb and flow give the song an emotional, anthemic tilt. Scree imbue their sound with mystery and a wide array of stylistic shifts, but most of all, there is deep and comforting warmth to the music they make, perhaps never more so than on August.