Ryan “Ryan Christopher Thomas” Thomas
@insertbandname.bsky.social
The official Online®️Presence™️ of occasional actor and pseudo-musician Ryan Christopher Thomas.
Hiromi has several records at this point that I consider to be masterpieces, but I think this is her best work. This album deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with the all-time great fusion records by Masayoshi Takanaka, Himiko Kikuchi, and Casiopea, to name a just a few.
10 OUT OF 10!
6/6
10 OUT OF 10!
6/6
January 24, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Hiromi has several records at this point that I consider to be masterpieces, but I think this is her best work. This album deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with the all-time great fusion records by Masayoshi Takanaka, Himiko Kikuchi, and Casiopea, to name a just a few.
10 OUT OF 10!
6/6
10 OUT OF 10!
6/6
Hiromi is obviously a superstar pianist, but the whole band on this record is ON FIRE. The addition of trumpet to her usual piano/bass/drum trio setup is the icing on the cake. The sum total of the magic this ensemble creates together is really beyond words.
5/6
5/6
January 24, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Hiromi is obviously a superstar pianist, but the whole band on this record is ON FIRE. The addition of trumpet to her usual piano/bass/drum trio setup is the icing on the cake. The sum total of the magic this ensemble creates together is really beyond words.
5/6
5/6
Other favorite pieces include
the tearjerking nostalgia on both versions of “Pendulum” and the well-beyond-my-comprehension-but-they-sound-AMAZING meter experiments in “Out There: Strollin’” But really, there isn’t a single moment on this record that ISN’T a highlight.
4/6
the tearjerking nostalgia on both versions of “Pendulum” and the well-beyond-my-comprehension-but-they-sound-AMAZING meter experiments in “Out There: Strollin’” But really, there isn’t a single moment on this record that ISN’T a highlight.
4/6
January 24, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Other favorite pieces include
the tearjerking nostalgia on both versions of “Pendulum” and the well-beyond-my-comprehension-but-they-sound-AMAZING meter experiments in “Out There: Strollin’” But really, there isn’t a single moment on this record that ISN’T a highlight.
4/6
the tearjerking nostalgia on both versions of “Pendulum” and the well-beyond-my-comprehension-but-they-sound-AMAZING meter experiments in “Out There: Strollin’” But really, there isn’t a single moment on this record that ISN’T a highlight.
4/6
Dense and challenging music, sure. But also incredibly FUN music. Opener “XYZ” blitzes out of the gate in a proggy 9/8 with enough force to cause heart palpitations before launching into the genre-bending lunacy of “Yes! Ramen!!” I could listen to that track 100 times and still find new things.3/6
January 24, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Dense and challenging music, sure. But also incredibly FUN music. Opener “XYZ” blitzes out of the gate in a proggy 9/8 with enough force to cause heart palpitations before launching into the genre-bending lunacy of “Yes! Ramen!!” I could listen to that track 100 times and still find new things.3/6
Mind-bending technical fireworks displays, exploding with off-the-charts energy, softer contemplative pieces with a metric ton of feeling, and incredible compositions and improvisations all around, with a truly grand sense of spectacle and adventure. 2/6
January 24, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Mind-bending technical fireworks displays, exploding with off-the-charts energy, softer contemplative pieces with a metric ton of feeling, and incredible compositions and improvisations all around, with a truly grand sense of spectacle and adventure. 2/6
Didn’t see your name on the post at first and was literally about to put these in our group chat.
January 23, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Didn’t see your name on the post at first and was literally about to put these in our group chat.
It really is going to take me years to recover from all the damage.
January 14, 2026 at 7:41 PM
It really is going to take me years to recover from all the damage.
Got my Emphatically No. tour shirt ready for the NYC gig. (Which I think Elsewhere Zone 1 is also where you played on that tour iirc.)
January 14, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Got my Emphatically No. tour shirt ready for the NYC gig. (Which I think Elsewhere Zone 1 is also where you played on that tour iirc.)
The whole debate over vocal clarity on this record is really missing the forest for the trees. This album is nothing but musical brilliance and strong artistic choices from one of the most skilled and passionate bands going right now, who cares if the words are a bit mumbly from time to time?
January 14, 2026 at 6:31 PM
The whole debate over vocal clarity on this record is really missing the forest for the trees. This album is nothing but musical brilliance and strong artistic choices from one of the most skilled and passionate bands going right now, who cares if the words are a bit mumbly from time to time?