Finely Tuned Elephant – ‘No Goats’ (2026)

In latest years I’ve seen a rekindled curiosity in 70s jazz fusion; Miles’ electrical interval together with spin-off bands Weather Report, Return To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra have impressed a brand new era of jazz-rock acts that faucets into their modern genius in melding the sophistication and improvisation nature of jazz with the direct energy of rock and funk.

But what about 80s fusion? The style of that point took by itself vibe as grooves received tighter, melodies received catchier, songs received extra exact and the manufacturing received sleeker. I really like 70s fusion as a lot as the following man however because it progressed into the following decade, it received rather a lot much less self-serious and far of it was simply plain enjoyable. It wasn’t lengthy after this fashion emerged {that a} watered-down model of it referred to as ‘smooth jazz’ started to catch on and took up many of the bigger modern jazz area; other than the Pat Metheny Group, the extra artistically-minded fusion of this era have been forgotten for probably the most half.

So, that’s been a largely untapped space that’s been begging for a revisit. There’s one band I do know of that’s recapturing that zeitgeist, and that’s Ottawa-based Finely Tuned Elephant. Originally began in 2019 by guitar whiz Jordan Robinson (who had simply launched a solo album, Finely Tuned Elephant) together with drummer Kyle Iveglia, the quartet is accomplished with Cyrus Robertson Orkish (electrical bass) and Alex Lugli (keyboards).

They set to work on the top of Covid and made their first album Perfect Coincidence in 2020, then adopted it up with The Fast Life a few years later. Both of those albums provided a headier model of feel-good fusion that’s been largely missing for some time, however now their third album is lastly coming after a four-year lull in launch exercise.

No Goats (out March 27, 2026) is the fruits of years of touring and honing their band chemistry. It’s additionally a step up within the composing division, the place the songs much more have a tendency to maneuver ahead and keep away from repeating the identical riffs in the identical method. You may say that the Finely Tuned Elephant has taken a superb begin with a transparent mission and finely-tuned it.

The band makes use of simply the fitting doses of jazz, rock and funk, leaning on a superb dose of musicianship to make your head, coronary heart and toes equally completely happy. Who do they sound like, you ask? The legendary Japanese rock-jazz group Casiopea is an apparent affect; Finely Tuned Elephant has achieved full-album dwell performances of their music. Chick Corea Elektric Band additionally involves thoughts as does Allan Holdsworth, The Jeff Lorber Fusion and Blue Matter-era John Scofield. But they don’t completely match any of those acts as a result of they’ve efficiently synthesized their influences into their very own dialect.

The integration of concord and rhythm is a central side of those songs, and the intricate interaction required to tug it off is without doubt one of the methods they shine. “Chunky Monkey” does that reasonably successfully and Robinson’s lead guitar acts because the lyrical voice on the tune to emphasise the melody. Robinson and Orkish take solo spots, however they maintain ’em direct and tidy. “Gamblin’ Man” manages to kick it up a notch, piling on attention-grabbing, fast-moving motifs one after one other round an anthemic, guitar-led refrain and a tumbling ending.

“Moongazing In Tokyo” (video above) struts with confidence whereas the mid-tempo strut of “Over Yonder” is circumspect. For “Thievus Raccoonus,” FTE adjustments the entire complexion of the tune simply by altering the tempo for the gallop to a laid again funky rhythm utilizing the identical motif.

“No Goats” shows mastery of the prolonged composition kind, shifting seamlessly from one sample from one other as Robinson extinguishes the excellence between soloing and singing resonant strains along with his guitar.

This report by no means hits any useless spots, there’s at all times sufficient chops, hooks and complexity to maintain listeners engaged all over. It’s time to re-embrace all of the vitality and funky enjoyable of Mullet Jazz. You don’t want a mullet or a time machine to take this journey; Finely Tuned Elephant’s No Goats is right here to re-create that feeling within the current.

Pre-order/order a digital model of No Goats from Amazon.