ONE SHOT - DARK SHOT - 2008

Sort of quietly and without huge notice outside of the specialty arena, One Shot have released a small body of excellent works and are, to my mind at least, one of the premier jazz/rock bands working today! Of course what makes them special and unique is also what makes them different from most jazz/rock, which is, of course, their Zeuhl parentage and background and all that that implies, which is groove, atmosphere and, of course 'just that sound' (the rumbling zeuhl bass, the phase-shifted electric piano, the smokey tones, etc). Happily, more and more people are picking up on this great band and this, their fourth album is one that is hugely anticipated by Waysiders and it's something special as well. Not only is it a new studio album, but it also includes a professionally filmed live concert DVD from January 24, 2008 that includes almost all of the new album as well as two other songs, including a version of the great title song from their last album! There's some interesting interview footage (I liked the part where Emmanuel said "clowns are tragic people who are funny onstage and serious or sad offstage. we are reverse clowns; we are completely funny until we get on stage..."), but mostly what this is is bassist Philipppe Buissonnet (Magma), keyboardist Emmanuel Borghi (Magma), guitarist James Mac Gaw (Magma) & drummer Daniel Jeand'heaur (Snake Oil) just playing with fire and verve. Highly recommended.
http://www.waysidemusic.com