Percy Jones Ensemble - Propeller Music (1990)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Percy Jones - Cape Catastrophe (1990)

Percy Jones with Tunnels - Percy Jones with Tunnels (1993)

Vic Stevens' Mistaken Identities - No Curb Ahead (1997)

Tunnels - Painted Rock (1999)

Drum machine, noodling fretless bass, synthetic-ass-all-hell keyboards, fragmented guitars -- generally woozy, slightly unsettling, 100% nerdy fusion. Midway through, vocals enter the mix, and the album morphs into a mid-era Gary Numan record. I listen to this by myself on headphones, and I think, "damn, this is so fucking rad, I wish all music was this weird;" I put this on a stereo with someone else in the room, I feel like a degenerate and a pervert.

Track listing:

1. $10,000 Bookshelf

2. Heidelberg Switch

3. Barrio

4. Panic - Disorder

5. Count the Ways

6. Turn Around

7. Slick

8. Slack

9. All for a Better Way

10. Looking for a Sign of New Life

11. Razorville

12. K2

Soon you're looking down at creatures in the dark

If you like this, you should hear:

Scott McGill - The Hand Farm (1977)

Louis de Mieulle - Defense Mechanisms (2011)

Vic Stevens' Mistaken Identities - No Curb Ahead (1997)

Dark-tinted jazz-rock/fusion led by drummer Vic Stevens. Discordant guitars, fretless bass courtesy of Percy Jones -- for about half the album, anyway -- some saxophone here and there, surprisingly (given that the groups's formed around a drummer) restrained drumming, and a whole lotta tasty, dated keyboard voices.

Track listing:

1. Useless Humans

2. The Sun Rises in the East

3. No Curb Ahead

4. Do the Do That You Do

5. I Travel Alone

6. Would You Like to Dance

7. Answers

8. A Party of Five

9. Buy the Weigh

Peaceful anxiety

If you like this, try:

Nicky Skopelitis - Ekstasis (1993)

Scott McGill - The Hand Farm (1997)

Tunnels - Painted Rock (1999)

Related:
Percy Jones - Cape Catastrophe (1990)

Instrumental jazz-rock/fusion from a trio helmed by bassist Percy Jones. An evocative mix of soft and hard-edged instrumental textures, making for an impactful but oddly dark, ethereal feel.

Track listing:
1. Painted Rock
2. Land of Hazmats
3. House of Marc
4. Quai des Brumes
5. Neuro-Transmitter
6. Boyz in the Ud
7. Black Light
8. Bad American Dream 2001
9. Lilly's Dolphin
10. Unity Gain

Body in a trunk

More along these lines:

Arcana -
The Last Wave (1995)

Metallic Taste of Blood -
Metallic Taste of Blood (2012)

Percy Jones - Cape Catastrophe (1990)

Eerie, nocturnal fusion/jazz-rock courtesy of bassist Percy Jones. Fretless bass, synth, drum machine, and fragmented samples. Cape Catastrophe's dark atmosphere will surely appeal to fans of Brand X, for whom Jones played bass.

Track listing:
1. The Lie
2. Cape Catastrophe
3. Slick
4. Hex
5. Barrio
6. Tunnels
7. Thin Line
8. Symphony in F Major

Nightmare patrol

If you're feeling this, try:

Nicky Skopelitis -
Ekstasis (1993)

Alesini & Andreoni -
Marco Polo (1995)