Review: ‘Deface the Currency’ by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis

Deface the Currency (Impulse!, 2026) is the follow-up to the 2024 eponymous album by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, issued on the same legendary label. The collaborative unit is even tighter now, having played a hundred and fifty shows together in one year. Their infectious mix of elements taken from punk, improvised jazz, and hard rock remains intact, elevated by an increased confidence and further openness to risk-taking. Their chemistry is more palpable this time than in their the first outing. The album title is taken from a quote from the Greek philosopher Diogenes that speaks to challenging societal norms. Simply said, it’s a call to action. The album’s energy level is ramped up, as is the spontaneity. Often, the vibe is to “burn down the stage,” as they’ve been known to do live.

Primary billing here goes to the trio formed in 2016, composed of the rhythm section from the renowned DC punk band Fugazi, with Joe Lally on bass and Brendan Canty on drums, along with experimental guitarist Anthony Pirog.  Most readers are already well familiar with tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, often dubbed JBL.

The title track leads off the record with JBL’s tenor blending with Pirog’s complex pyrotechnics before the latter launches a fiery solo, to which to the tenorist responds with an angry improvised turn. The guitar screams while the bass-drum tandem creates a dense, fuzzy backdrop. Out of the fracas, the quartet settles before reaching a volcanic finale. Bassist Lally sets up a funk groove over which JBL emits bebop-like lines in “Gestations.” Again, the group reach a climactic boiling point as they take their cue from guitarist Sonny Sharrock’s classic Ask the Ages (Axiom, 1991), which the band has recently covered in live shows.

“Years of Knowing” draws back the power, with Pirog and JBL delivering more melodic fare that later leads into heady, improvised territory. Canty’s cymbal flourishes and propulsive kit work are also most impressive here. “Rules of the Game” is angular, with strong dialogues between Pirog and Lally, and later between the guitarist and JBL. The music pauses briefly for Lally’s eclectic bass, after which it ventures north into a blistering punk rock terrain, as JBL blows fiercely. The most surprising dynamic shift occurs with “Universal Security” as Pirog and Lewis deliver an airy melody over the rhythm section’s waltz-time pulse. What begins as sublime turns monstrously boisterous, as JBL wails against the trio’s harsh, discordant wall of sound.

“Clutch” takes a similar route, with Pirog initially issuing easy-flowing guitar lines before intensity builds again in a beyond-aggressive roof-raising. Perhaps taking a cue from Jimi Hendrix in the parenthetical addendum in “Serpent Tongue (Slight Return),” the quartet reprises a track from their debut album, saving perhaps the most fiery in-your-face track for the album finale.

The unrelenting power of this quartet will thrill you to exhaustion. Deface the Currency is the epitome of genre-blurring. Yes, this listener’s head is spinning. Yours will be too.

‘Deface the Currency’ will be released on Impulse! Records on February 20, 2026. It can be purchased directly from the label.