Washington, DC · instrumental rock · jazz-punk

The Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis

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Fugazi's rhythm section plus guitar wizard Anthony Pirog, joined by saxophone titan James Brandon Lewis — post-hardcore muscle meets free-jazz flight.

The Messthetics are a Washington, DC instrumental trio made up of bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty, the rhythm section of Fugazi, with guitarist Anthony Pirog. Pirog brought the two together in 2016, and their self-titled debut appeared on Dischord in 2018, combining the tightly wound rhythmic sense of DC post-hardcore with his own jazz and experimental background.

Canty recorded that debut himself in the band's practice space, and still plays a large bell salvaged from his Fugazi-era kit. Lally spent eight years living in Italy before the group formed, working on rhythms counted in seven and thirteen, an apprenticeship that shows in the trio's odd-metered pieces.

Their music moves between riff-driven sections and freer, effects-heavy playing. Pirog shifts guitar textures within a single piece, almost as readily as changing instruments outright, while Lally and Canty hold a rock-solid, harmonically active groove underneath the shifting meters.

For this collaboration the trio are joined by tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, a prolific figure in contemporary jazz known for a full, hard-blown tone and for projects that draw on gospel, funk and free improvisation. The quartet released an album together on Impulse! in 2024, with Lewis's horn taking the lead voice over the trio's rhythms.

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instrumental rockjazz-punk