Kush: Streams of Consciousness Volume Two

There are no hidden agendas behind this Canadian electronics-oriented band. As stated on the ensemble's website, the music aims to please via a feelgood type manifesto, where jazz, house music, ethereal musings and solid instrumentation coalesce into a fastidiously assembled package. Marked by wah-wah trumpet lines, steady beats and layered effects, the ensemble looms as groove merchants, underscored by several acutely-placed detours.

The program features prismatic soundscapes and ethereal electronics treatments. However, the musicians diversify the sound processing component with jazzy and danceable riffs. On "Sugar Pusher," keyboardist Eddie Bullen revs up an airy, melodic vibe via his sweet-toned electric piano phrasings, spiced with a modern jazz tinge. The band soothes the mind and uplifts the soul by spreading a dense framework, consisting of thoughtful arrangements. With drifting themes and ascending crescendos, Kush perpetuates a happy-go-lucky muse that is not sugarcoated into oblivion, evidenced by similar units, steeped within these hybrid electronica-jazz formats.

The piece titled "Free with a Vengeance," projects an Indo-fusion outlook, accentuated by what could be a digitally-processed female voice track. Hence, Kush ventures into a world-music sculpted motif, brimming with good cheer and a harmonious motif-building exercise. Among other positive attributes, Kush transcends the norm by instilling an artistic aura into a few of the many roads previously traversed by other units of this ilk.

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