Ah, Les Vaches! is the 12th album by Bushman’s Revenge, a jazz fusion power trio based in Oslo. They’ve been making music since 2003 and made their first record 20 years ago. I found out about these guys in the early months of the pandemic while combing through the Hubro Records website late one night. Their sole Hubro release to date, 2019’s Et Hån Mot Overklassen (A Mockery of the Upper Class), quickly became one of my go-to records when I needed something a little different — distorted bluesy jams and instrumental power ballads leavened with a bit of twisted humor. Ditto their 2022 release All the Better for Seeing You.
Irreverent humor? Well, the title of this new one is French for “Ah, the cows!”, which were reportedly the last words of impressionist composer Erik Satie, whom the band apparently greatly admires.
This album offers a slightly different take on the basic theme. Nothing major, but when you’ve been at it for a couple of decades you need to keep it fresh, right? To start with, their longtime bassist has moved on to other endeavors, so guitarist and composer Even Helte Hermansen, and drummer and vibraphone player Gard Nilssen are joined by Tor Egil Kreken on bass.
To my ear there’s a more pronounced American voice to it. That’s not solely due to the presence of Johan Lindström guesting on pedal steel guitar (who also appeared a little bit on All the Better for Seeing You. From the very first moments of the opening track “Unholy Ghost,” all I could think of was Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. A frenetic, distorted bluesy guitar rave-up with Nilssen free-forming it on the kit. It’s glorious. But not really representative of the rest of the program. Hermansen says it came out a little more “pop” oriented than their last few albums.
“That is ‘pop’ with a massive disclaimer,” he says. “There’s perhaps a little more emphasis on shorter songs, simpler melodies, and ‘poppy’ rhythms, and slightly less of the rock and the free jazz influences this time. … But nevertheless, it’s still very much a Bushman’s Revenge album, as weird as ever.”
Weird maybe as in “And Gullit Was His Name – O,” a very catchy and tuneful piece with an almost hummable guitar melody with a surf rock sound, Nergaard’s bass pushed way out front, and Nilssen playing a stuttered rhythm kind of like early Bad Plus. Or “Velkommen Til Gards,” with a similarly obfuscated rhythm scheme and a hard to pin down guitar melody, and the first we’ll hear of that pedal steel.
“Bram,” one of the singles, is even catchier with its galumphing melody played on Hermansen’s homemade baritone guitar, sometimes in unison with the bass, and some very spacey pedal steel from Lindström. “Musically, this little ditty is sort of our take on traditional folk meets Jim Keltner, and Johan Lindström!” the band says. “It has a few twists and turns along the way, served with the usual general helping of happy-go-lucky, irreverent attitude. (So older, but still not wiser, it would appear.)”
A little farther along, “One Small Misstep For Man, One Giant Mistake For Mankind” is a slow-boiling fusion rocker with a long and rather spiky guitar solo; with its use of effects pedals and some of Hansen’s licks, it’s perhaps the most recognizably Bushmen’s Revenge of these tracks.
In my admittedly limited experience, Bushman’s Revenge always includes a few slower pieces amid the general mayhem, and this time there seem to be more of them. Most notably a “cover of a cover” of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” slowed way down and stripped way back to guitar, bass and drums (just kick and malleted toms) with some subtle electronics for atmosphere. “Rådyrparet” is practically somber, a slow ballad with pronounced country-folk touches, almost like something off a Trond Kallevåg album but with a bit more of a jazz feel, especially in Hansen’s extended solo. Likewise “Barbara,” an extended country waltz, tender and longing. ” Pauseakvariet” is swinging and jazzy and loungey with brushed snares and a louche guitar melody. And the closer “I Am A Ghost Now” crescendos from a mournful opening to a suppressed wail of sorrow or pain that, by the time it ends, mirrors that Hendrixian first track very nicely.
Sometimes when I’m stressed I look to a pensive piano trio to calm myself. At other times, I want a wall of noise, driven by passion but not taking itself too seriously. That’s exactly the role Bushman’s Revenge has played for me these past few wild and crazy years. That’s what makes Ah, Les Vaches! and others of their oeuvre so indespensible.
(Is It Jazz? Records, 2026)
