In 2024, the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis got together on an album called, appropriately enough, The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis. The Messthetics are a DC jazz-rock trio that features Fugazi's former rhythm section, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty, together with guitarist Anthony Pirog. Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis is a big deal within the jazz world. Together, those four guys released a skronky, playful, generally alive LP. Now, they've made another one.
After The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis album came out, Lewis' James Brandon Lewis reconvened for the 2025 album Apple Cores, while Brendan Canty made an album called Second with sound artist Stephen Vitiello and violinist Hahn Rowe. The Messthetics and Lewis' new album is called Deface The Currency, and it builds on the energy that this quartet generated when they played a ton of shows behind the last record. In a press release, Lewis says, "The more you know someone, the better the relationship is, the more enriched it becomes. It’s like a cast-iron skillet: The more you keep cooking in it, the better the food gets. So I think that’s what you hear on the record, and you hear an urgency of now."
Lead single "Gestations" showcases everything that sets this group apart. It's a jazz instrumental that feels equal parts discordant and traditional. Joe Lally and Brendan Canty come up with a bumpy groove and give James Brandon Lewis and Anthony Pirog plenty of room to solo, and they occasionally build up to heavy riff-rock crescendos. I'm not a jazz guy, but it sounds cool to me. Canty co-directed the song's video with Robin Bell. Below, check out that video, the Deface The Currency tracklist, and the next round of shows that the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis will play together.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Deface The Currency"
02 "Gestations"
03 "30 Years Of Knowing"
04 "Rules Of The Game
05 "Universal Security"
06 "Clutch"
07 "Serpent Tongue (Slight Return)"
TOUR DATES:
4/17 - Portland, OR @ Star Theater
4/18 - Seattle, WA @ Clock-Out Lounge
4/19 - Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall
4/25 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings
4/26 - Asheville, NC @ Ayarprana Listening Room
4/27 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
4/28 - Lexington, KY @ Singletary Center For The Arts
4/30 - Chicago, IL @ Constellation
5/01 - Detroit, MI @ Third Man Records
5/02 - Toronto, ON @ 918 Bathurst
5/03 - Erie, PA @ Centennial Hall
5/04 - Kingston, NY @ Tubby's
5/05 - Boston, MA @ City Winery Boston
5/06 - New York. NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
5/07 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Pittsburgh Jazz & Poetry Festival
5/08 - Philadelphia, PA @ Solar Myth
5/09 - Washington, DC @ The Black Cat
Deface The Currency is out 2/20 on Impulse! Records.
