By Storm, 'Double Trio'

Arizona's Injury Reserve was expanding the borders of their jazz-inflected sound when member Stepa J. Groggs died in 2020 at only 32 years old. It was a foundational blow to the group, punctuated by the release of the abrasive By the Time I Get to Phoenix the following year. But it was unlikely that the group's surviving members — vocalist Ritchie With a T and producer Parker Corey — would stop traveling the path they charted with Groggs.

"Double Trio" is the duo's first release since retiring the name Injury Reserve and reforming as By Storm (a nod to the closer on By the Time I Get to Phoenix). For seven minutes, they mourn their friend, pushing both for his liberation and their own. "It's time to break the silence, only time can wait," Ritchie sings in between wails. Corey, a proven and talented producer, uses a sample of a jazz combo to punctuate the song's two acts. In the second half, he chops it into a footwork instrumental. Like Ritchie's moans, it's his form of release.

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