Rolling Stone Australia September 2017

THE FUTURE IS NOW

SOUNDS LIKE:Art Ensemble of

Chicago jamming at an art-punk

loft

FOR FANS OF:Don Cherry, Chi-

cago post-rock

WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTEN-

TION:Chicago-reared, NYC-based

trumpeter Jaimie Branch has

played with the likes of Spoon, TV

on the Radio and Belle Orchestre.

After 10 years of being down

to jam with jazz, post-rock and

doom metal groups, Branch steps

out with her assured debut album,

Fly or Die, fronting a band featur-

ing noted Chicago percussionist

Chad Taylor and cellist-composer

Tomeka Reid. The album expertly

veers from sweet hooks, spacy

interludes and free-jazz explora-

tion, Branch’s trumpet sparring

with Reid’s sawed cello, Taylor’s

crackling rhythms and even bits

of acoustic guitar. Her horn veers

everywhere from Cootie Williams-

style growls to space-echo

ambience.

SHE SAYS:“Both my broth-

ers and my dad was a trumpet

player, but I didn’t really know

that when I picked it up,” Branch

said of carrying on in the family

tradition. Growing up in Chicago,

she cut her teeth as part of

what she deemed “a 10-piece

traditional suburban punk ska

band” as a teenager and later on

became entranced by Chicago’s

legendary, still-vital jazz scene.

“Chicago jazz has a homegrown

attitude about it that’s really DIY.

They put on high-level concerts

but at its roots, it’s almost a

punk aesthetic. The musicians

put on the shows for other

musicians. That’s why it keeps

perpetuating. It’s at such a high

level of energy.”

But for her album, she took

inspiration not from classic jazz,

but from an unlikely pop source:

“I wanted it to be the length of

Weezer’sPinkerton,” she says,

“where you can easily listen to it

again and again.”

HEAR FOR YOURSELF:“Theme

001” has a peppy and bright

bounce that serves as a good

introduction to Branch.ANDY BETA

Jaimie

Branch

SOUNDS LIKE: Progressive country with
an indie fl air, like Jenny Lewis’ twangier
cousin
FOR FANS OF: Nikki Lane, Kacey Mus-
graves, Aubrie Sellers
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION:
Ruby Force, AKA Erin McLaughlin, lives
up to her vivid stage name. On her debut
album Evolutionary War, she paints co-
lourful tales using a broad sonic palette,
drawing from country, Americana, rock
and indie pop for a sound that lands
somewhere between Rilo Kiley and Nikki
Lane. While some tracks – the single
“Cowboy” – dabble in retro infl uences,
Force’s music is a glimpse at the promis-
ing direction in which left-of-centre
country music is headed.
SHE SAYS: “Evolutionary War is sort of a
collection, like a box of photos you fi nd
from a certain period of life. It strings to-
gether like a narrative essentially, about
how I love,” McLaughlin says. “If these
songs can fi nd their way into people’s
hearts, not to mention playlists, I would
feel like I’ve accomplished something of
eternal value.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF:“Ode to Vic
Chesnutt” pays homage to the beloved
late Athens songwriter and to “life spin-
ning like a wheel” with sweet harmonies
and an optimistic, driving beat.
BRITTNEY MCKENNA
Ruby Force

38 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com September, 2017

CASEY CURRY; PETER GANNUSHKIN