Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features psychedelic pop by George Mashour and psych-rap with side-project VaporDaze, jazz by Rick Roe, indie pop by Toadally, trippy improvisations by Cats Jams, and noise rock by Horse Bomb.

George Mashour, Eulogy for My Ego Death
VaporDaze, "Psych Trap"
Dr. George Mashour is an anesthesiologist and neuroscientist who studies consciousness. The University of Michigan researcher also makes music that could soundtrack an LSD trip. Mashour's September 2024 LP, Eulogy for My Ego Death, is a psychedelic-rock record created by someone with an honorary Ph.D. in the genre. This is Mashour's first album and you can tell he's a mega-fan of psych-pop, from its 1960s origins to its modern-day tributaries. He spreads his encyclopedia knowledge of the genre across the nine tracks, which feature zinging sitars, wah-wah'd fuzz guitars, clumpy bongos, dreamy vocals, watery organs, and groovy bass lines. Eulogy for My Ego Death is an homage to the genre he loves but also a tribute to Mashour's vision for its future.

VaporDaze is a side-project between Mashour and Ego Death producer Marty Gray, and the duo's first single, "Psych Trap," is a trip-hop meets psych-pop song that could have come out of the early 1990s Madchester scene.

Rick Roe, Tribute
Lansing-area jazz composer Gregg Hill has a unique way of working: He writes tunes, hires a bandleader to record the songs, allows that person to arrange the compositions and hire the sidemen, and then releases the record on his Cold Plunge Records label or in association with the long-running Seattle label Origin Records. Hill drafted Saline pianist Rick Roe for the 12 tunes that comprise Tribute, and the keyboardist asked U-M professor and bassist Robert Hurst and Detroit drummer Nate Winn to accompany him.

Roe is a huge admirer of Thelonious Monk, but on Tribute, his playing isn't nearly as percussive or jagged as his hero's. He's a lyrical player throughout the record: Roe's melodies glide across Hill's changes and he keeps his solos vibrant and open. Hurst is a first-call bassist who worked for years on The Tonight Show with Branford Marsalis and has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Diana Krall, Geri Allen, and numerous other major jazz musicians over the past 40 years. His elastic, swaggering bass lines are so compelling I often zoned in on his performance even when the piano was in the lead.

Tribute is 55 minutes long, which is epic for a piano-trio album, but the conversation between Roe, Hurst, and Winn—initiated by Hill's colorful compositions—is so compelling that your interest won't lag for a second.

Toadally, "Fall Dream"
Toadally, "Count to Ten"
Toadally, "Puzzled"
Ypsi's Toadally plays light and wistful indie pop that sometimes reminds me of Jonathan Richman, mostly in the way the vocalist sounds like a naive crooner who doesn't worry about hitting every note perfectly. The quintet released three charming singles in 2024, all with delightful cover art by Stormy Brook.

Cats Jams, at the gary jmm
Cats Jams, Big Driveway
Ann Arbor's The Missing Cats is a fusion-tinged jazz-oriented ensemble led by guitarist Brandon Mitchell. Cats Jams is a side-project featuring most of the same musicians in a setting that evokes jam bands stretching out. I wouldn't be surprised if these tunes were freestyle warm-ups The Missing Cats recorded at practice, allowing them to go heavy on the grooves and improvisations.

Horse Bomb, Live
Ann Arbor's Safa Collective releases all sorts of free-form and experimental music under a variety of band names, including Horse Bomb, a noise-rock ensemble that shows up and shows out. This 75-minute live album documents two fuzz-soaked shows, one at Ziggy's in Ypsilanti and one at Voodoo House in Detroit.

Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.