GoGo Penguin created their 2023 full-length
Everything Is Going to Be OK in order to cope with loss and tragedy. By the time they started working on
Necessary Fictions, they were ready to have fun again. The trio challenged their preconceived notions of who they are and what they do, incorporating different influences, more synthesizers, and working with guest musicians. While they're essentially an acoustic, instrumental jazz trio, they've always played with rhythms influenced by dance music, indie rock, and minimalism, with drums sounding closer to breakbeats than traditional jazz drumming. On
Necessary Fictions, they frequently use modular synthesizers, though they often create tones that sound closer to acoustic than synthetic. The slow-moving, spacious "Living Bricks in Dead Mortar" features a buzzing bass synthesizer part that's more ambient than propulsive, and the drifting "Float (Loi Krathong, 2003)" is inspired by memories of a water lantern festival in Bangkok. The delicate, patient "Forgive the Damages" features the hushed vocals of
Daudi Matsiko, the first singer to ever appear on a
GGP song.
Manchester Collective are featured on "State of Flux," adding cascading strings to the trio's tricky rhythms, easily resulting in one of the album's highlights. "Luminous Giants" also features string arrangements, but it isn't quite the same energetic burst as "State of Flux." The complex trap/R&B-inspired beats of "Naga Ghost" feel like new territory for the group. "The Turn Within" starts out with a steadier groove but eventually accelerates, kicking into a frenetic, drum'n'bass-style rhythm towards the end. The slightly dubby and distorted "What We Are and What We Are Meant to Be" is the band's own acknowledgement that they're challenging themselves and pushing themselves forward. ~ Paul Simpson
