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Gideon King & City Blog is a jazz rock fusion collective from New York City, spearheaded by namesake Gideon King. Their new album, City Blog, is out today, and the sound of the album is largely indebted to Steely Dan. Interestingly, the recordings actually feature Carolyn Leonhart, a singer for the aforementioned band. King manages to capture that same indefinable quality of Steely Dan, namely that it’s impossible to pin point exactly what the sound really is. It’s poppy, but it’s not really pop; it’s jazzy, but it’s not pure jazz; and although it contains certain elements of rock, it’s a far cry from the genre. It’s really only of and for its own.
The entire album is smooth sailing—there are no real pure up-tempo moments. Even more guitar-driven songs like “Friendship Cliché” sound like they were written, recorded, and intended to be listened to sitting down. But they are truly at their best when they capture that breezy, soft sound of 70’s jazz fusion acts on songs including “City Blog” and “Dirty Bastard.” City Blog is a perfect epilogue to the end of the summer. There’s just enough chilly detachment thrown into the mix of sunny washes to give you the slightest feeling of melancholy.
