Pit er Pat Water

Thrill Jockey released The Flexible Entertainer in January 2010, and I can't believe it's been hidden in plain sight ever since. I first came across Pit er Pat's Emergency at a library sale, wore out the disc, and mostly forgot about them. In the time since, they've written eight full lengths. This latest is the first without former bassist Rob Doran; his absence let dynamic duo vocal/keyboardist Fay Davis-Jeffers and percussionist Butchy Fuego significantly progress their sound.

My first impression was that they're on point with Sleigh Bells and Champagne Champagne in how they blend elements from rock and hip-hop (you can hear strong parallels with Lykke Li as well, except it kinda makes Lykke Li sound like young Jewel). But the album is self-categorized as enka: western influenced, traditional Japanese pop. Ladies in kimonos, meet Neil Diamond... I think they must be joking. A younger brand of enka may be emerging, but this is still a stretch. This is enka in motivation, maybe.

Using raunchy samples that beg for summer, the first track "Water" sets the album off at a bounce. The next track departs from that sound entirely, simmering over the mood with an instrumental John Lurie-style guitar and adding a variety of sounds, from shakers to a lightly pulsing synth sample to backwards loops and finally, vocals.

Overall, The Flexible Entertainer was written for a European tour and comes off as casually sophisticated - lighter and more playful than before, not so art rock as to be unapproachable, not so trendy that talent is hidden in gimmicks.

Spending a decade developing sounds and samples, leaving room to integrate genres and moods, and ultimately knowing when to change the whole sound of the band proves experience pays in artistic development. Pit er Pat's talent for layering styles blows away most of their contemporaries (even a year out), and their dynamic phrasing and percussion (electronic and live) dig beneath any single style to the roots from R&B to jazz, to house and back.

What's up Thrill Jockey? This album should be a major hit.