james holden & the animal spirits: the animal spirits

Electronics guru James Holden and his newly-expanded band The Animal Spirits transport its listeners to a magical other world with this third album: a bold new set of synth-led folk-trance standards, fusing elements of psychedelia, krautrock, world, and spiritual jazz with Holden's usual propulsive melodic vigor into his most ambitious -- but also most accessible -- work to date. The synth-and-drum core of Holden's Inheritors-era (BC 040CD/LP, 2013) live touring outfit has picked up several members along the way, incorporating saxophone, cornet, recorder, and cosmic percussion, all recorded live together in one room under the direction of band leader Holden to produce a genre-blending new form of universal music that feels inherently fluid and alive.