Adult Jazz is an English

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band.

History

Adult Jazz was established in 2010 at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. Members Tim Slater, Harry Burgess and Steven Wells are all originally from

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

. In 2013, they released a 12" vinyl single; In 2014 the band released their debut full-length album titled ''Gist Is'' on Spare Thought. The album had a positive critical reception, with David Peschek, writing in

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

, positioning it "at the sharpest edge of the expression of queer experience in pop music" The record caught the ear of other artists: cellist Oliver Coates covered the album's opener Hum; Bjork attended a 2014 show in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, later writing about the experience for

Art in America ''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...

magazine;

Shabazz Palaces Shabazz Palaces is an American hip hop group from Seattle led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). Much of the Butler's work as Shabazz Palaces has been made in collaboration with multi- ...

remixed their single Springful; and the group were invited to play 2015's Meltdown festival at the Royal Festival Hall, curated by

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

. In 2016, Adult Jazz released a mini-album titled ''Earrings Off!'' on Tri Angle. The record explored harsher digital textures and the critical reception was mixed. Music review website Drowned In Sound called it a "brave, intriguing release" whereas YouTube critic

Anthony Fantano Anthony Fantano ( ; born October 28, 1985) is an American music critic and YouTuber who runs the YouTube channel The Needle Drop and its tie-in website. He discusses and reviews music from a variety of genres in his YouTube videos and on his we ...

called it "one of the most annoying things e'dheard all year". The lead single, Earrings Off!, was remixed by Norwegian musician

Jenny Hval Jenny Hval (born 11 July 1980) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and novelist. She has released eight solo albums, two under the alias Rockettothesky and six under her own name. In 2015, Hval released her fifth studio ...

. Later that year, the band worked with

Okay Kaya Kaya Wilkins (born August 14, 1990), better known as Okay Kaya, is a Norwegian-American musician from New Jersey. History Wilkins was born in New Jersey and raised in Nesoddtangen, 4 miles outside of Oslo. Raised by her mother along with 5 brot ...

on a double A-side single, featuring a cover of the

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

song

Keep On Pushing ''Keep On Pushing'' is a studio album by the Impressions, released on ABC-Paramount in 1964. This was the group's biggest hit album ever, reaching number 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, the band's highest position on the chart, and number 4 on ...

. In 2020, they worked with

Moses Sumney Moses Sumney is a Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter. His self-recorded EP, ''Mid-City Island'', was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled ''Lamentations''. His first full-length album, ''Aromanticism'', was released ...

and

Oneohtrix Point Never Daniel Lopatin (born July 25, 1982), best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, is an American experimental electronic music producer, composer, singer and songwriter. His music has experimented with tropes from various music genres and eras, s ...

on the track Cut Me from Sumney's album Græ, which was placed at number 12 in Pitchfork's best songs of 2020. In 2024, the band returned with Dusk Song, their first release in eight years, followed by two more singles, Suffer One and Marquee, for an upcoming album. In April 2024, the band released their second full-length album ''So Sorry So Slow''. The Clash's Nick Roseblade noted the albums slower pace, but praised the lyricism and subversive melodies, writing that the group remains "a powerhouse of skewed pop." In a review for Bandcamp's "Album of the day" Ted Davis wrote "These songs swirl and jitter at random, hinting at a virtuosic collective consciousness. The unpredictability at the heart of the album elicits a warm, deja vu-like energy. It’s like the pleasant experience of a foggy teenage memory resurfacing out of the blue."

Discography

Studio albums *''Gist Is'' (2014, Spare Thought) *''Earrings Off!'' (2016, Tri Angle) *''So Sorry So Slow'' (2024, Spare Thought) EPs *''Am Gone/Springful'' (2014, Spare Thought)

References

External links

Official Bandcamp
Indietronica music groups English electronic music groups English experimental musical groups English experimental rock groups Musical groups established in 2010 2010 establishments in England {{UK-electronic-band-stub