Norwegian instrumental art, prog and post-rock quintet The Samuel Jackson Five have released “ICU”, the third and final single from A Passage to Elsewhere, their first full-length album in nearly a decade, out October 30 via Karisma Records.
Drawing from Kosmische Musik, ’70s progressive rock, vintage library music, the jazz-inflected post-rock of Chicago and Toronto, imaginary folk and experimental electronica, the album unfolds as an ever-shifting melodic journey rather than building towards predictable crescendos. It was produced and recorded by the band, led by multi-instrumentalist Thomas Meidell and drummer Sven Andrén, who mixed it at his Klokkereint studio outside Gjøvik, with guests including saxophonist Dag Stiberg, violinist Magnus Nielsen, Ola Mile Bruland, Åsa Ree and Jenny Berger Myhre.
“The title operates as both: I see you and Intensive Care Unit, us deciding if we should pull the plug on the project or give it one last jolt. Recorded just before the onset of the pandemic, the track grew from an inspired jam session following a family emergency and a trip to the ICU, which fortunately resolved well. That sense of tension, release and overload runs throughout the piece.”
The Samuel Jackson Five
Listen to “ICU” here. Pre-order A Passage to Elsewhere on CD, digital and orange vinyl via Bandcamp or the Karisma webshop.
Tracklist:
- A Passage to Elsewhere
- Temporary Happiness Revival
- Mid-Rite Crisis
- The Department of Intermediate Affairs
- Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast
- 1420 Svartskog
- ICU
- Bright Galaxies, Dark Matters
