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THE MESSTHETICS

Deface the Currency, the new second collaborative album from the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, grew out of a simple intuition. The group — with saxophonist Lewis joining the core Messthetics lineup of Brendan Canty on drums, Joe Lally on bass and Anthony Pirog on guitar — was on tour in the summer of 2025 when Canty knew it was time to go back into the studio.

This configuration of the band had debuted on record the year prior, releasing an acclaimed self-titled album via Impulse!, the legendary jazz label. But as the quartet logged serious time on the road, the drummer felt their chemistry evolving, so he called up engineer Don Godwin and booked a couple of days at Tonal Park in Takoma Park, Maryland, where The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis was recorded.

“The driving impulse was to not let a moment in time go away when you have a band that’s really jelling with one another emotionally and musically,” Canty recalls.

The plan was never to track an entire album — rather just to capture a few songs that they’d been playing live. But once the sessions began, it became clear that the group was ready to make its next full-length statement.

Deface the Currency preserves the tightness and variety of its predecessor, but across the album’s seven tracks, it reveals new levels of confidence and risk. On pieces such as the title track — named after a quote from Greek philosopher Diogenes that speaks to challenging societal norms — and a new version of “Serpent Tongue,” which first appeared on the Messthetics’ self-titled 2018 debut, the quartet reaches ecstatic peaks that convey fun as much as ferocity. More than any earlier statement by the band, the record seamlessly melds the sounds that make up its collective DNA, from punk rock to free jazz and funk, balancing compositional precision with palpable improvisational fire.

“I like making nice, carefully orchestrated records,” Canty says. “But I also really like to bring abandon into the studio, because I think people hear that difference.”

The Messthetics formed in 2016 in Washington, D.C., drawn together by mutual admiration: Pirog had grown up listening to Fugazi, the era-defining post-hardcore band anchored by the rhythm section of Lally and Canty, while the bassist and drummer heard the genre-spanning guitar visionary play around town and took note of his unusually inclusive aesthetic. Pirog had played and bonded with Lewis before the Messthetics formed, and in 2019, he invited the saxophonist — whose massive, soulful sound has made him a star of the contemporary jazz scene — to sit in with the group live. The collaboration blossomed and eventually led to the quartet’s 2024 LP.

As strong as that effort was, it documented a union that was still in its infancy: The trio worked up most of the material apart from Lewis and then rehearsed with the saxophonist for just one day before entering the studio.

JANEL LAPIN'S THE REALIST

The Realist (OOYH 048) by DC-based cellist and multi-instrumentalist Janel Leppin, featuring their new Realist Trio of Devra Hoff (Sharon Van Etten, Nels Cline, Xiu Xiu) on bass, and Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground Duo, Marc Ribot, jaimie Branch) on drums, releases September 11 2026 on Out Of Your Head Records. Leppin, praised as “an absolute virtuoso” by DownBeat Magazine, has spent the last few years composing for their large Ensemble Volcanic Ash, a group with an "utterly original sound" according to AllMusic, and touring both as a solo act and as one half of the duo Janel and Anthony. In need of a band that was easier to tour, The Realist Trio was born, and as with ensemble Volcanic Ash, this new band has created a sound world uniquely their own and without immediate comparison in the modern jazz world. Drawing from a wide range of influences, including beachy indie music, laid back melodic jazz, and deep pocket basslines, most of the track titles on The Realist are a love letter to Leppin's lifetime home of Washington DC.

Five of the album’s twelve tracks are named after historic DC venues, Comet Ping Pong, Rhizome’s Home, Twins, Kaffa House, and Bohemian Caverns, each playing a major part at various points of Janel Leppin’s career. DC’s punk scene is legendary, and the punk and hardcore shows Leppin saw at Kaffa House in high school were an early influence that very much still appears in their music today.

Rhizome is among the most important venues for improvised music on the East Coast, and the track Rhizome’s Home demonstrates Leppin’s deep love for the crucial role it plays in the DC arts scene. Transparent is dedicated to Bobby Hill who started Transparent Productions, an organization that brings jazz musicians to perform in DC. Bobby is a musician, advocate for avant-garde jazz, and longtime DJ on 89.3 FM, which is also a track title on The Realist. North Road is the street where The Brink, a recording studio in Richmond VA, is located. The majority of Leppin’s albums were recorded at The Brink working closely with engineer Mike Reina, a process that has helped define the distinct sound of all their albums since 2005. Richard the Luthier is a dedication to Richard Wang, Leppin’s luthier since starting the cello who retired this year. Key Bridge refers to the bridge that connects DC to Virginia. And The Realist refers to the pickup that both Leppin and Devra Hoff use to amplify their instruments.

When asked about the ethereal vibe of The Realist in contrast to their edgier previous projects, Leppin said: “I wanted to create an atmosphere where people feel safe. The cello is a transportive instrument and I take my role seriously in trying to provide an emotional space for lovers of the cello. After decades of performing I think people need this instrument, and for more cellists to open up to their emotional side in their improvisations, no matter the context. This is one of my efforts to do that. With that broad goal in mind it creates permission to write any music I want and to incorporate any genre influences that feel right for a given piece or ensemble. The Realist is a deep and refreshing feeling record.”

The Realist further exposes the cello as one of the most versatile and expressive instruments, but one that is still underappreciated and underrepresented in the creative improvised and jazz communities. Furthermore, the vast range of musical influences Leppin drew from while composing The Realist makes it an album that appeals to fans of Deerhoof and Godspeed You! Black Emperor just as much as Mary Halvorson. It is the work of an artist unconcerned with stylistic boundaries, and holds a place all its own in the canon of modern cello recordings.

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