(Reprinted from the September 2023 issue of Downbeat magazine)
During jaimie branch’s too-short life—she died in August 2022 at age 39—the forward-leaning trumpeter challenged many a status quo. You can hear her tearing down walls on Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)), her posthumous release for Chicago’s International Anthem label. There’s the way she applies the pedal, lulling the ear into a sense of safety, before she interjects animalistic screeches and roiling chords (“aurora rising”). Or her use of repetition in the keyboard, like a soon-familiar drone, even as the trumpet and cello agitate above (“borealis dancing”).
These are the record’s first two tracks, and it’s best to listen straight through in designated order. Intentional or not, each new tune often seems to begin where the previous left off, giving the album a certain continuity of spirit. Where, for instance, “burning grey” closes with a bow scratching against string, “the mountain” opens—before switching to a country bounce. And “baba louie,” a barreling Latin-based dance, ends in a somber march; a similar snare feel introduces “bolinko bass.”
Curiously, branch demonstrates a preference for abrupt or messy outros, as if a thought—intriguing, complex—just suddenly ended. Note how a breathless silence descends after the free squawkiness of “and kuma walks,” even as the jumble of noise returns on “take over the world”—this time with a declarative finale. Finally, on the last track, “world war (reprise),” branch broadcasts the album’s message outright, couched in almost-spoken vocals, oscillating organ chords, and ever-hopeful lyrics: “What the world could be, if only you could see,” she sings. In response, some wind chimes rustle—a gentle farewell.
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)): 1. aurora rising; 2. borealis dancing; 3. burning grey; 4. the mountain; 5. baba louie; 6. bolinko bass; 7. and kuma walks; 8. take over the world; 9. world war ((reprise)). (43:52)
Personnel: jaimie branch, trumpet, voice, keyboard, percussion, happy apple; Lester St. Louis, cello, voice, flute, marimba, keyboard; Jason Ajemian, double bass, electric bass, voice, marimba; Chad Taylor, drums, mbira, timpani, bells, marimba; Nick Broste, trombone (5, 6); Rob Frye, flute (5); bass clarinet (5, 6, 7); Akenya Seymour, voice (5); Daniel Villarreal, conga, percussion (2, 5, 6, 7); Kuma Dog, voice (5).