Ninja Funk Orchestra

It’s been one month since NFO dropped their debut album at Mod Club. It was my fifth or sixth time seeing the band. They took the stage in space-man “Ninja Tek” costumes and performed through clouds of fog, flashing lights and a fancy tripped-out visual show projected on three screens surrounding the band. Was it a stimulating show? Hell yes.

Dan and I were invited to their listening party a few months back and were able to preview a few tracks before they were mastered. The songs had been stuck in my head since, but given the experimental and sometimes unexpected directions the songs take, all I could hum were the hooks. Needless to say, I was happy to get my hands on their album that night.

Now I’ve had a copy of the record for about a month and I’ve given it a chance sink in. The songs are carefully-crafted and well-performed and I can’t help but find a world of humour in their writing and production style. I think the band’s strongest point is their musical sense of humour; between mezmorizing bass tones and wah-wah washed sax lines it is hard not to crack a smile at the over-the-top-hell-circus sound.

It opens with the energetic “Fist,” which is one of the more agressive tunes on the album. Already 30 seconds in, we’re swimming in spacy tones and cymbal rolls. Before the Rage-esque hook drops, we hear a vocal sample – an element new to Ninja Funk Orchestra. While vocal samples do pop up here and there throughout the album, they’re used sparingly and I find they help tastefully set the other-worldly tone of the record. Listen for the transitions between parts: there are some snazzy little psychadelic things goin’ on.

“(Theme From) Thunderbrawl” is the next tune. If you haven’t heard this one yet, it’s streaming on their website along with “10,ooo Snakes,” “Shadow” and “Heirophant.” I would say “Thunderbrawl” is one of the more accessible tunes on the record (aside from “(Oh Baby, I’m So Beyond…) Drifting Through Space Without You…” but we’ll get to that one later). T-Brawl grooves along quite nicely and is a great example of Ninja Funk’s ability to space out their melodies maturely and discreetly mix it up while still being danceable and remaining interesting. When they do this song live these days, the band rests after the first run of the melody (ie, they all stop on that last womp.) That’s a break I actually miss when comparing the record to their live show. Also, the sax tone kind of reminds me of Charlie Brown’s teacher rocking out.

“Shadow,” “10,000 Snakes” and “Hierophant” all bring their own version of the Ninja Tek sound to the album. That EQ ramp-up right before the drums kick in at the end of “Shadow” gets me every time.

But I’m stuck. I’m really stuck on track 5. “(Oh Baby, I’m So Beyond…) Drifting Through Space Without You…” It has the best title on the record and perhaps the most mainstream-friendly sound to it. As the title suggests, this tune is a fluid, emotive drift through space. While it lacks in the face-imploding, super-stimulating uptempo elements we’ve come to love, I suppose this song does have heart, but there isn’t much about it that is Ninja Funky. The tune has definitely grown on me since first hearing it, mainly for the interplay between the guitar and sax melodies during the verse and the performance of the solos. The track is well performed and well produced, but it just seems so out of place on the record. Having this track does balance the album’s dynamics, though. I wonder if this marks a new, more commercially-acceptable sound for the band. Time will tell.

“Must Keep Moving” and “Exhale” close the album, reprising “Shadow” and some of the other musical ideas from the record (though, in that Ninja Funk way, the time signature is different by one beat.) In the same kind of way Dark Side of the Moon closes with very thematically similar tunes, tracks 7 and 8 really bring this album together as a piece of work rather than simply a compilation of songs.

This album has a lot of very well composed, well executed songs. Some of the music is a little too cerebral to just chill to, and some of the time switchups make it difficult to dance to without getting thrown off the 4/4 groove your hips may be used to. Nevertheless, Mack’s a-smashin’ and crashin’, Neil’s guitar is roaring, Roorda’s holding down the bass-fort and Gordon’s womp-womping with style on the sax. I do recommend you check out the album with an open mind. If you give yourself a chance to get to know the songs, you will be impressed.

Check out NFO at www.ninjafunkorchestra.com

-Ben - www.jamtastic.ca