As eclectically inspired as new jack swing—the late 80s hip hop-dance pop-R&B fusion from whence its name—No Jack Swing is the latest release by queer punk writer, dancer, and multi-hyphenate Oakland artist Brontez Purnell. Co-released by Dark Entries Records and Brooklyn-based QTPOC art collective Papi Juice, the album has one important sonic thread: the Amen break. But don’t expect jungle or drum and bass. It’s mostly midtempo funk alternative, with the lead single “Girl from Ghost Town” rhythmically reminiscent of the massive 1992 pop rock chart-topper “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors (hopefully no one hates me for that comparison). But the album’s centerpiece is the highly personal “I Got Joy,” organically built upon and unfolding out of gospel tapes from Purnell’s childhood singing with the New Zion Missionary Baptist Choir of Belle Mina. Joyful? Because it’s completely free to be whatever it needs to be.
