Today’s Outfit – It’s AlgoRhythmic! (Album)

There is music out there that cannot be named or described in a way that makes sense because it’s not mainstream, it’s not easy to categorize. The guys of Today’s Outfit are one of those artists that simply cannot just be put in one specific drawer of the industry out there. Let me start with this: their style creates a certain craving for the unique genre-blend they do, and that craving needs to be satisfied asap. Well, luckily there’s a full new album with the remedy waiting for you.

The funk-n-groove-soaked “It’s AlgoRhythmic!” opens the doors to a funky universe that you probably have never heard before. And that’s the real beauty, the secret ingredient, and the heart and soul of the music of Today’s Outfit.

Opening the album with “Like A Dinosaur”, the album transmits the essence and soul of music right away. With the help of fat, saturated synths in a sparkling environment, the track uses its funky soul to create a unique environment that feels ultra-wide and ultra-tight at the same time. Due to the fact that there are quite simple melodies and arps used, the song is attached to a certain blue-collar vibe for me, making the sound accessible and eyebrow-raising with its energetic solo parts. “Book of Ancient Secrets” on the other hand makes my drummer’s heart jump around in happiness from the first seconds on. The tune has a dense base that opens up during the chorus parts, just to get its focus back on the next verse. I love the change of pattern and room, it’s a rhythm-guided flight through several sleeping states for me. Although the vocals feel totally at home in this atmosphere, the tune does its storytelling mostly through the melodic foundation that it creates.

Speaking of, the art of letting the instruments tell the stories instead of the vocals or lyrics is one of the stunning talents of the band. Music can easily get boring or repetitive when not enhanced with vocals, but in their case, they found a way to give every single component in their tracks enough meaning and weight to tell the story of the song, and it feels as if they just decide on the go whose turn it is to be the star. This “rotation” gives their tracks an unreal lively appeal.

“Best Seats in the House” is combined with an almost retro component. Where a minimal melodic concept meets a driving rhythm and energetic vocals, the tune creates an almost road-trip-ish character as it progresses. The follow-up, “Metacops”, introduces a very different flavor though with its dreamy synth progressions and floaty appeal. These two tracks showcase the different moods that are created by the band. Depending on their message, they can easily switch between tight and energetic to dreamy and floating, yet – and that is the important factor here – without ever drifting too much into the psychedelic scene. This is what I’d like to call the “Outfit factor”, it’s a certain density connected to all of their tracks, no matter if relaxed or driving.

“Future Heart” starts with an intriguing mysterious atmosphere which is needed to transmit the amount of emotion that is woven into the tune. The song has quite a session-ish character, but for me, it’s exactly this vibe that makes the track interesting, because it’s this (let’s call it) “unguided feeling” that keeps the tune in a perfect balance between laid-back and tight. Between dream and reality. Between logic and intuition. And, to no surprise, the next in line, “Animal”, is shifting gears once again. The biting guitars and the melodic concept of the vocals create an almost passive-aggressive atmosphere where density is built and things get more dark-ish than they were before. Changing mood sets isn’t a problem at all for Today’s Outfit. Whatever is needed, they switch even within tracks if they have to.

And then there’s the name-giving track. “It’s AlgoRhythmic!” blends handmade structures with a processed synth, building a mysterious canvas that uses a really interesting combination of styles and vibes as it progresses. The track breathes funk, it sweats disco, and it transpires groove. And it takes the listener through a whole palette of scenarios, alternating between driven and floaty. (At this time, all of you listeners out there have to acknowledge this awesome signature move of genre-defying mood mixes, right.) “Part of You” even brings a cultural component to the table for me. The intro part feels like watching the day begin on a misty mountain somewhere in Japan. The tune allows the listener to get lost in those soft and silky textures which, not surprisingly, sound and feel not like anything on the album. Within those last six minutes of music of the album, there’s an unexpected amount of emotion and heart offered. Slow heartfelt textures start to dance with slow rhythmic patterns, putting the spotlight on the sensitive and dedicated vocals, making the song feel like a bittersweet departure. And this last tune also shows the versatility of the band for one last time on the album.

All in all, for me this album is a perfect showcase of what Today’s Outfit is all about. Every single track does what music is all about. These tunes do raise eyebrows, they make you move, they make you identify with the topics at hand, they take you on a trip you’d never expect, and most importantly, they entertain you. Everything important about music is present in “It’s Algorhythmic!”. You gotta love that natural flow attached to this album.