A velvet groove sneaks in first on Pierpont & Helgson's Of Time, built on drums and bass that feel lifted from an old reel-to-reel vault. Then the colors bloom. Hammond organ flickers through the haze, baritone guitar rumbles like a slow-burn chase scene, and strings drift in like cigarette smoke curling across a dark lounge. This is the sonic canvas of Minneapolis composers and multi-instrumentalists Cy Pierpont and Riley Helgeson, a place where funk brushes against noir, and melody moves with quiet menace.

The two came up together throughout the 2010s as members of the Lakers, recording and touring internationally with soul powerhouse Sonny Knight. Their time alongside Knight, along with collaborations with the Valons, Wanda Davis, and Jackie Harris, shaped their ear toward intention rather than excess. Every line should serve the mood. Every sound should tell a story.

Rather than build a fixed band, Pierpont and Helgeson approached Of Time like a vintage score house in motion. Tracks began with sample-ready rhythm sections, then expanded into whatever the moment called for. Some pieces demanded brass, woodwinds, and mallets. Others brought in choral vocals, Latin percussion, or the sharp sting of the Japanese taishogoto. The result is lush without overcrowding, cinematic without leaning on nostalgia, elegant but always edged in shadows.

Listening feels like slipping into a 1971 crime thriller or a dim lounge at closing time, headlights gliding across rain-slick streets as something unsaid hangs in the air. Pierpont and Helgeson chase those moods with the patience of filmmakers and the instincts of crate-diggers, letting tension bloom in the quiet places where beauty leans toward danger.

Fans drawn to Menahan Street Band, Lalo Schifrin, David Axelrod, or Khruangbin will recognize the inspiration, but Of Time twists those colors into something new. Let it play loud. Let it move slowly. Let it reveal itself like a secret.