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Manchester’s genre-defying trio GoGo Penguin return with Necessary Fictions, their seventh studio album and a bold new chapter in the band’s evolution — out now. The record represents a deep dive into identity, authenticity, and transformation.

With Necessary Fictions, GoGo Penguin — Chris Illingworth (piano, synths), Nick Blacka (bass, synths), and Jon Scott (drums) — have embraced new textures and ideas more fully than ever before. The album sees them expanding their signature sound, drawing deeper into modular synths, and, for the first time, welcoming other voices into their sonic world.

“This is what we want to make right now, and it feels authentic,” says Blacka. Necessary Fictions is the sound of a band unafraid to reflect who they are — not just in sound, but in spirit and surroundings. — (via Label)

What exactly is the entity known as GoGo Penguin? After several recordings developing a niche they call "acoustic electronica"—an amorphous recipe of rock-and techno-oriented hooks played on jazz instruments in real time—one might have thought we had the answer with the eponymous GoGo Penguin (Blue Note, 2020). Like many self-titled albums, it made a clear statement of identity with a defining sound. Then again, it was soon followed by a companion remix album (Blue Note, 2021) of fully electronic reinventions, which showed that the other side of the coin felt just as much them, even amidst a whirlwind of sounds never found in nature.

So that was one answer to the question of GGP's identity, but then they only keep evolving. The band had found plenty of variety with sound-sculpting tricks, such as spreading rattly objects across the drums, or muting piano strings with duct tape. Still, the analogue-with-gimmicks framework was never a strict rule, and more changes kept coming—a new drummer, more judicious uses of synthesizer gear to shade the piano notes, Nick Blacka occasionally leaving his upright bass to pick up an electric. The musical pieces would follow wherever their muse went, whether it be composing around science themes or processing emotional difficulties, and they would continue to tinker with any tones that happened to feel right.

This time, the sound and dynamics reach a new scope. With Necessary Fictions, we are now hearing a band confident enough to break its own mold and not worry about setting another. If it feels like Jon Scott's rhythmic snaps should blend with some tribal drumming or crackling distortion, great. If Chris Illingworth wants to offset his flying piano lines with light synth clouds or a heavy wall of buzz-drone noise, so be it. If they decide to enhance a couple of their trademark swirling grooves with an eight-piece string ensemble, or invite a good friend to grace the band's first-ever vocal number with a fluffy cloud of harmonies, they do not hesitate to go for it—and to surprising and inspiring results.

If 2023's Everything is Going to Be OK (Sony/XXIM) was a warm ray of light after a low emotional time, Necessary Fictions is the sunny-day party that follows once everyone feels properly ready to celebrate. The band sounds exuberant when stomping the place down or warmly comfortable spinning a pretty melody with charming simplicity. Their attitude is reassuring, the energy uplifting, and the happiness simply contagious. — (via All About Jazz)

GoGo Penguin have already given us one album, Everything Is Going To Be OK (XXIM, 2023), following the departure of their original drummer Rob Turner and the arrival of Jon Scott. With its tendency to introspection, ‘Everything’ marked a successful new start for the trio of Scott, pianist Chris Illingworth and bassist Nick Blacka.

After touring the album worldwide, the three of them considered their musical direction anew. Illingworth and Blacka re-equipped their studio in Manchester and started jamming. Scott joined them after a few weeks and throughout 2024 the three took their time to work on new pieces. Necessary Fictions is the result, which sees them invent their version of GoGo Penguin.

The sound is recognisable, of course: strong piano lines, powerful bass and novel drum parts. However, their new album dives headfirst into adventure. Illingworth has been exploring synthesizers and uses them brilliantly, while Blacka and Scott are in top form.

From the opening track Umbra, it’s clear that the sheer joy of playing is renewed, and with that the emotion and all the fantastic builds and crescendos that make their tracks hard to resist. Fallowfield Loops follows on seamlessly. Vintage GoGo Penguin, rock solid.

Singer-songwriter Daudi Matsiko was the support act on their last tour, and the chemistry between them prompted a surprising collaboration. Forgive The Damages is the first sung track on a GGP album, and a highlight of the new record. A beautiful song, soulfully delivered, with a glowing atmosphere.

What We Are What We Are Meant To Be? features thick synth parts as a basis. The instrumental synth passage Background Hiss Reminds Me Of Rain surprises with beautiful melancholic sounds.

With The Turn Within, everything that has made this band so special comes together – A delightful inimitability in terms of structure and composition, beautiful in sound and atmosphere: a new GGP classic.

The alienating and dark Living Bricks In Dead Mortar, with Illingworth pressing the synths and Naga Ghost embellished with a hefty bass solo by Blacka, showcase new aspects of their music. It’s also wonderful how thickly they build up to a synth-driven ending.

The addition of the eight-piece string ensemble Manchester Collective in Luminous Giants is particularly striking. The rich string arrangement gives the track something extra special, and this is definitely GoGo Penguin as we’ve never heard them before.

After the short, Eastern-inspired Float, the wonderfully driving State of Flux, again with strings, blows you away completely. Blacka’s typically fat bass line, Scott’s dynamic drums, and Illingworth’s rich melody line are followed by the strings taking over in a fascinating way. Another new classic here.

All in all, a masterful record, that definitively takes the new trio to the highest heights. — (via UK Jazz News)

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Label: XXIM Records  
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Released: 2025 
Genre: Jazz, Electronic
Style: Breakbeat, Contemporary Jazz, Modern/Future Jazz

File under: Jazz // Modern/Future Jazz
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