BeHer3 - Fight With Your Best Weapons

From his work with Dusan Jevtovic on Am I Walking Wrong?, Xavi Reija’s Resolution, and also done a score for a video game for the PSP called Invizimals 2: Shadow Zone with GarcyNoise, Bassist Bernat Hernandez displays a lot of his talent by helping some of his friends out to lend a hand on their projects. Taking the sounds of; John Coltrane, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and the German Experimental scene of the early ‘70s to name a few, BeHer3’s Fight With Your Best Weapons sounds at times like it was recorded during the 1970s and he carries the essence of the three influences in his bag and bring it to life as his playing in the styles of Jaco Pastorius, Jimmy Garrison, and Paul Chambers.

The first four tracks (Gotta Shot of Whiskey, Holland 54, Wallander, and Under the Blanket), feels as if you are in the streets of Paris as they are almost like a score for a movie that is almost at Midnight walking through La Seine and the Eiffel Tower and there are some wonderful touches of Bebop Jazz in the late ‘50s. And it reminded me of some sessions that it could have been used between Wes Montgomery and John Coltrane as if they had done an album together that would have been a perfect match to get you in the relaxing mood for a dance.

Almost as if it was the Act one of the story as Act two is where they go into the late ‘60s and into the golden-era of the ‘70s. Bernat and the band go through ‘50s Jazz and straight into the sounds of Jazz Fusion and this is where they go into a fast mode like no other. Through the essence of the Funk-Soul groove on Descend & Mono Moon in which the drums are in the style of Billy Cobham and Bill Bruford at times and the Miles-like Trumpet comes in as the Bass helps in to play the melody before Bernat does his Jaco tribute on the Bass.

Meanwhile, We Try It in the Soundcheck has this wonderful homage that the trumpet goes into the style of the late Nucleus’ Ian Carr and bits of Elton Dean of the Soft Machine as well in there as the Rhodes goes into a soothing ambient atmosphere before Bernat’s workout comes on into the town. But Absolute Zero is Bernat’s ominous bass composition that has this post-apocalyptic nightmarish touch as it segues into the sinister guitar-driven styles of John McLaughlin and Robert Fripp into the void on Hexagonal Panel.

The electronic structures comes in handy as the drums, guitar, and bass go into the space and heading into the milky way of our solar systems for a rocket ship adventure into the stars with Shout With All Ur Might as the band go into this alternative relaxing mode in an acoustic style for Bernat and his friends get a chance to relieve their electric instruments into a lighter yet calming touch on the acoustic version of Staring at the Chrysler. Then, everything goes into Funk town late ‘70s/early ‘80s style with a dosage of the Fusion/Soul groove of Herbie Hancock’s keytar if you will as Bernat and his friends are having a blast away In a Really Good Company.

As the first (Bebop), second (Fusion), come into place, the third and final act on tracks 13 through 16, sees Bernat go into more of a 21^st century futuristic adventure if you will. There are elements of an electronic version with shifting time signatures a-la Mahavishnu style with a Hammond organ on the psychedelic-jazz touch with The Dover Man and the droning turned soothing but yet peaceful with a dynamic vibe with Hypothetically Crystal.

Then Bernat takes a breather to relax for one of the guitarists to lay down some avant-garde ideas with a touch of Amon Duul II’s Phallus Dei-era in there with sinister vibes along with the sounds of Phillipe Besombes in the mix on Living in Some Other Frequencies and Don’t Rip the Letter. The effects of backwards tape and laid-back drums make it perfect for this piece as it has some elements for touches of the obscure and musique-concrete at times to fill in the void that makes it in your face and the terror comes right there that is mind-boggling at the same time.

But one of the most creepy and haunting compositions that is on the album is the electronic surroundings homage to Gong, Radiohead, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze with the 9-minute epic, Traffic Jam. The keyboards go into some haywire and moody terrorizing elements that bring back the sounds of the Krautrock movement in there for the first two minutes as the trip-hop boogie goes into place for Bernat to go into Stanley Clarke territory as the effects of the noise that sound like zappers attacking to lay down some funky vibes and the last few minutes sees the guitar going into haywire mode before getting back into the funk.

A Long Way Back to Home reminded me at times sessions that were left off of Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma and a score to Alejandro Jordorowsky’s abandoned Dune project. The sounds of the effects of sonic-ambient-cosmos, the instruments is letting us the listener know that it is ready to set for light speed to control heading back to Earth for a wonderful and amazing adventure with BeHer3. Bernat really shows the balance of going through those acts of the different genres of Jazz, Fusion, and Electronic Music and parts you can relax, buckle your seatbelt and go beyond the different voyages of different worlds and understanding where he will go next.