Promise is sprinkled like birdseed throughout Great Aviaries, Super Numeri's blinding menagerie of instrumentation, which grounds itself in post-rock and percussive jazz. Each track presents a new twist on its predecessor, adding elements with bold confidence and at a patient, comfortable pace. Sitars, Victorian music boxes, and Doors-inspired organ all find their way into Super Numeri's tour van, which is already packing the legacy of Ninja Tune acts such as Cinematic Orchestra and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra (whose complex instrumentals often offered respite from the labels highly evolved trip-jazz mission statement).
The live band feel is inescapable, as electronics and studio trickery become window dressing for the tight interplay of the group. \x93The Ember Love\x94 and \x93Classic British Ponds\x94 easily build a bridge over the troubled waters between post-rock and cloying jam bands, fortifying their extended meanderings with a thick bottom end that ensures the noodling doesx92t overcome the beat. \x93Classic British Ponds\x94 swells as the percussion reaches a treacherous climax, then breaks over the simple bassline, which pulses into \x93Flaurent Carmix94, a hypnotic, echo-laden slice of warped funk that sounds like Osibisa fronted by Roger Waters, all in the throws of a dedicated hydrocodone binge.
\x93Sundial\x94 carries the afro-beat torch as well, but allows it to roam wild and attack the speaker cabinets with bursts of shrieking guitar and squawking brass, sounding like the Philly Zoo during mating season, and the sloppy stop-start dust that \x93Beaks\x94 kicks up is a natural follow up. You could almost get away with saying it rocks, but you'd get laughed at for sure; a gentle trip like \x93Otter's Poll\x94-- draped with groggy harp and violin-- is a lot more Andrew Coleman than Andrew W.K.: the guitars get crazy, sure, but they never get up to 11.
The strings that find their way into the commotion as bookends to \x93Sundial\x94 are stunning, and their presence on Great Aviaries resonates deeply. Super Numeri's Ninja Tune bio, credited to their landlord, makes much of the orchestral elements in effect on the album, and rightfully so. They are the cool satin sheets that the afternoon rehearsal funk of \x93The Ember Love\x94 rests on, the tranquil stream that winds through the wet summer air of the album's opener and first single, \x93The Electric Horse Gardex94, an impressive number that could easily sit beside Coldplay or Phish's quietest moments without breaking a Liverpudlian sweat. Used sparingly, the strings never overwhelm, content instead to simply bring a touch of majesty to the party. It's a seamless integration.
With only eight songs on offer, Great Aviaries seems insufficient, sticking to a lower weight class when it could easily be taking on the big boys. Most of the pieces stand by their established modes for the duration, with little variation in mood or energy. You can be certain Super Numeri have some chops, and equally sure that their debut is holding something back. But they make up for their brevity with a number of excellent refurbishings of the Ninja Tune sound, pulling the soul of the samurai into their tea-shaded rock unit and working it ragged. If there's a safe bet in the newest Ninja generation, Super Numeri are it.
