Aja

 

    Yeah, everything I've heard about Aja is accurate. This album is great and marks a significant stride forward in Steely Dan's style and quality so far in their discography. The jazziness in the rock is at it's most forefront so far and it's just fantastic; the rhythms and layers, the instrumentation, the overall composition and flow of the songs, it all just works so well and sounds effortless with how natural it feels. It's a weird way to describe it, but this is a case of it feeling less like a meticulously constructed work and more so something that just exists. I have, of course, heard the popular singles from this album many times before so that possibly has some influence in that regard, but I honestly think the album is good enough beyond just that to really earn it's status. Becker and Fagen's work and the efforts of apparently nearly 40(!) musicians brought in to contribute really shines in how polished nearly every aspect of the music is. Aja takes what I liked about The Royal Scam (namely the great composition and instrumentation, and excellent solos) and does even more with it, while also expanding on the jazz-fusion sound with even more ambitious instrumentation and timbres to give it a sort of ethereal vibe, especially present on tracks like Peg and Josie (shoutout to the Lyricon, which I only just learned about from it's use here!). The whole album has that sort of mystical feel, like peaking into another reality of sorts for a brief time before the curtains are drawn again and you're back on Earth. Maybe I'm overselling it with the theatrics but I think it's just very well done and well worth a listen if you haven't before. 

    Highlights: Black Cow, Deacon Blues, Peg, Home at Last, Josie.

Rating: 6/6