Yakuza

What is it with singer-saxophonists and Chicago? There must be something in the deep-dish pizza. First there was Steve Sostak of the legendary quartet Sweep the Leg Johnny, a band that gained a rabid following throughout the '90s and early-'00s owing to a jazz-laden style of indie rock that featured plenty of mathy twists and turns. Sweep eventually called it quits, but the platonic ideal of the singer-saxophonist has found its place with Bruce Lamont of Yakuza. His Windy City quartet's latest release, Samsara, is an intense listen, full of spazzcore freakouts, metal/grindcore destruction, mathy sucker punches, world-beat flourishes and jazzy tangents. If you like your metal unpredictable and forward-thinking, then do check out Yakuza.