Despite its title, ‘Infection’ is anything but abrasive. The latest instrumental from Captains of Entropy finds the LA trio leaning further into the hazy, groove-led side of their sound, delivering a piece that feels relaxed on the surface but carefully arranged underneath.
There’s an ease to the track that suits the band well. Keyboardist Mike Kanon, bassist Reilly Wareham and drummer Jason Young have built much of their identity around improvisation and instinct, but ‘Infection’ introduces a slightly different discipline. Working to a metronome gives the song a more fixed rhythmic centre than some of their looser material, and that structure allows the smaller details to register more clearly.
The bass has a rounded, elastic quality, the snare keeps the pulse clean and direct, and the keys drift across the arrangement with a soft, cinematic quality. Nothing feels overcrowded as the track moves patiently, letting repetition become part of the appeal at every turn.
The accompanying video also reinforces that feeling. Filmed at New Monkey Studios by longtime collaborator Matthew Mourgides, it presents the trio simply playing together, without overcomplicating the setting. And the result gives us a glimpse into the chemistry that drives the project.
There are familiar traces of 70s jazz fusion, psychedelia and more cinematic instrumental music in the background, but the group continue to shape those influences into something increasingly recognisable.
Following their debut album ‘The Flea & The Worm’, ‘Infection’ feels like a small but useful evolution. It shows Captains of Entropy becoming more deliberate without losing the looseness and playfulness that made their earlier work so engaging. Smooth, understated and quietly immersive, it’s another convincing step from a trio that seem happiest when they let the groove decide where to go next.
