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Galactic Cowboy Orchestra — Lost in the Numbers
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-01-08

Lost in the Numbers Cover art

When I hear a jazz-rock band of the more energetic variety that has a prominent violin, the first thing I think of is Mahavishnu Orchestra. Galactic Cowboy Orchestra has been around for a while, but Lost in the Numbers is my first encounter with this group based in Minneapolis. Bassist John Wright formed the band, and he’s joined by his wife Lisi Wright (violin, vocals), Dan Neale (guitar), and Mario Dawson (drums), though I think Dawson might be a guest player rather than a group member. The other three occasionally perform as an acoustic trio. The ten tracks on this album fall into two basic categories, with some crossover between them. There are fiery instrumental tracks that do indeed follow in the Mahavishnu footsteps, and there are vocal tracks that are much more pop oriented, maybe a bit like Kansas with a female singer. The title track opens the set, and it’s a burner full of fast licks and tricky rhythms, though the lack of keyboards skews the sound away from the inspiration. Dixie Dregs is another relevant comparison, since there’s an underlying element of American folk music that sometimes comes out — in fact I might say that GCO takes ideas from Mahavishnu and replaces the Indian influence with bluegrass and American folk. That track is followed by “Righteous,” a vocal tune with a tasty 5/4 riff that almost could have come from Kansas around the time of Song for America. Lisi’s voice is strong and expressive, certainly not a handicap for the band, and her violin solo is excellent. “(Better Than) Vacation” is an instrumental based on some great acoustic guitar work, and it again brings to mind the Dregs. “Ascension” and “In Passing (Excerpt from Raga Piloo)” are more instrumental scorchers (with Dawson’s drums particularly impressive on the latter), “Letter to Mom” revisits the acoustic style, and “Diamonds” is a vocal tune with some fusiony bits included. There’s also “Triple S (Redux),” a reworked version of a tune from their 2021 album Flirting with Chaos, which is an instrumental that blends acoustic and electric instrumentation to great effect. Lost in the Numbers is a fine album that benefits greatly from the diverse backgrounds of the musicians and their tasteful bridging of different styles.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Galactic Cowboy Orchestra

More info
http://www.galacticcowboyorchestra.com/merch

 

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