Balance of Extremes

“Hold On”

(Blue Canoe)

Cody Carpenter’s Balance of Extremes (Blue Canoe) is a fitting title for an album that tilts the scales between the far-flung limits of the jazz-rock spectrum. The keyboardist — whose father is film director John Carpenter, of Halloween fame — had already made inroads in the synthwave and scene under the alias Ludrium, releasing three acclaimed albums that showed off his solid songwriting and synthcraft skills. Balance of Extremes has a decidedly harder edge, harnessing the most potent elements of prog-rock, power metal, glam-rock and Eric Johnson-esque guitar artistry and channeling them into a united front. Our selection, “Hold On,” is the album’s opening track, launching the proceedings with boosters at full thrust. Marco Sfogli’s guitar rips across the song with laser precision, and Jimmy Haslip’s bass adds a supercharge to the momentum. For jazz-rock fans who like their jazz and rock in at full measure, this is the album for you.