ragingmime

It takes serious cajones to base a jazz track around the sound of a telegraph machine and a drum n’ bass beat, but Antony “Ant” Neely pulls it off in Not for Human Consumption. As the guitarist and synth whiz of subthunk, he’s made a solo record that channels the free-form jams of his band’s earlier work as well as the punchy, structured songs of 2005’s You Should’ve Been Here Yesterday. “Lucky” mixes a playful pulse wave bassline with sinister strings and samples from a 50s movie, while “Might as Well Whistle” sounds like the soundtrack to a 70s game show. The record is alternately bleak, goofy, and heartbreaking, and Neely brings the jazz chops and studio wizardry to make it all work. If the Flaming Lips swore off rock and formed a jazz trio on the moon, this is what they would sound like.

More info (and free, Creative Commons-licensed download): www.antneely.com