"On the highway now, driving for the sun, so happy life just begun," David New sings sweetly in the opening track off The Hip Abduction's One Less Sound, ushering in the bright and buoyant vibe of the entire 11-song LP. Produced by Jim DeVito (Donavon Frankenreiter), One Less Sound draws more heavily on their South African and Malian influences, the record drenched in island-swaying rhythms and Afro-flecked guitar melodies, and littered with hip-shaking funk-jazz grooves and tight multi-horn arrangements. Studio cuts of better-known THA tracks like the slow-groove bounce of "Love Foundation" and breezier "Sun King" are interspersed with newer numbers like the uplifting, anthemic "Someday I'm Going Away." The band's use of instruments like the 21-string Kora and lyre-like Nyatiti adds to the album's worldly flavor, and take center stage on the LP's vocal-free tracks.
THA stages a CD release celebration that coincides with their headlining performance at this year's Nightmare at the Museum Bash. Jim Morey Band supports with his stumbling NOLA flavored post-swing jazz rock. Guests also enjoy bobbing for apples, cornhole games, beer tastings, and prizes for the Wizard of Oz-themed costume contest.
Details: Nightmare at the Museum Bash/The Hip Abduction CD Release Party with Jim Morey Band, Sat., Oct. 29, 7 p.m.-midnight, St. Petersburg Museum of History, downtown St. Petersburg, $15 in advance/$20 at the door, spmoh.org/nightmare.html.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2011.
