Lapis Lazuli are a Canterbury band who seem not to have been active since 2020. There was a phase in the last decade with various bands being feted as the 'new Canterbury Sound', and Lapis Lazuli were among those mentioned, although they have a sound which is very much their own, owing very little to Caravan or Soft Machine.
I bought it in the then newly opened Smugglers' Records shop in Deal (which now seems to do more business as a bar/cafe than in record selling) out of idle curiosity and I wasn't disappointed.
The album consists of three long tracks, all with much noodling, sound effect, and musicianship. School has a very 1970s jazz-funk feel to it, switching between themes in the first half, before a much more rock guitar sound moves in, accompanied by some blazing sax. Phighyphe (I've no idea how you would say that) has a more Latin feel at first, with Eastern tinges, and it's a very listenable long piece, again livening up in the second half as sax and guitar drive the music. Reich starts off guitar-rocky, where the previous track left off, then noodles on, with a couple of more dreamy sections, for another quarter hour.
It's an enjoyable listen, perhaps a little indulgent, but it feels like a five piece where everyone plays their part, gets their say and gets their time, so perhaps ideas stretch beyond their natural duration. Having said that, it's a decent enough album, probably an occasional listen, rather than an everyday treat.
3* - Competent enough jazz/space rock, which passes a pleasant hour or so.
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