The Sway Machinery / The Dream Past

There are just a few musicians who consistently make music of originality and wonder: the late Jewlia Eisenberg, Frank London, and especially, Jeremiah Lockwood, come immediately to mind. As might be expected from the scion of a cantorial family, even with a detour apprenticeship in the blues, Lockwood always has something new to offer that pushes the boundaries of the genre and expands the mind of the listener. I have often referred to his band, The Sway Machinery, (name a nod to William Burroughs, as filtered through a davenning—praying, chanting minyan?), through many iterations, as "punk cantorial," nodding to the noisy, motion-compelling music. But it is lazy labeling, referring to the way that this is not the davenning with which I grew up. It's often in your face. It is not often sweet. And yet, especially on this recording, it is intricately tied to nusakh, the traditional Ashkenazic prayer modes.

Some of these tracks are entwined with cassette recordings surreptitiously made during services during Lockwood's youth. Most presumably grew out of the High Holiday services he has been leading in Brooklyn the past several years. The album opens with "Asher eymosecha," a text attributed to Eleazer Hakalir in the 7th C. Yuli Yael Be'eri (who is also part of the "Khazontes" collective that re-recorded classic radio woman cantorial soloists) has a lovely voice (sometimes reminding me a bit of Kate Bush) that balances the grittier playing and Lockwood's own khazones. The songs chosen are sometimes familiar from traditional Shabes or High Holiday tunes ("V'chol ma'aminim," "Adon Olam"), but with more. Listening the harsh guitar and sweet horns on "V'chol ma'amin" I find myself listening differently. The sweet guitar strumming that leads into the band's version of "Yishtabach" recontextualizes it beautifully to the point where Lockwood's chanting and the band's horns begin the davenning. Other texts are more mystical, often with settings composed by the band or by Jeremiah Lockwood ("Asher Eymosecha," Ki Keshimcho," "Aderes Mamlocha"). I especially treasure those songs introduced by the singing of the cantors from whom the melodies were learned ("Odom Yesodo," V'chol ma'maminim," "Yishtabach"). Finally, the recording ends triumphantly with one of the most familiar of all prayers in the weekly canon, "Adon Olam" (Master of the Word). I am reminded of a review of the Kinks, decades ago, commenting that however a song started, it always ended up with thumping rock and roll. As the sax wails and the band kicks back in, I realize that it is time to start listening anew.

I am grateful that in launching his new label, Khazones Underground, Lockwood has chosen to take the band into the studio and create this recording—its first in a decade. In a time when Jewish congregations seem more in tune with mumbled speed davenning, or with folk davenning, or with chant davenning, this recording points to another path, one that is also meaningful, and one that speaks to me, having grown up listening to cantors in shul. It's also very exciting music on its own—no davenning required. You might turn to other Khazones Underground recordings to get a sense of how the great cantors of the past davenned. This is the recording for hearing what davenning might sound like now and into the future. For now, unlike the khazones with which I grew up, "The Dream Past" rocks. Listen to it now.

Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 2-June 2026 .

Songlist

1. Asher Eymosecha (Text: Eleazer Hakalir (7th century); Music: JL) 2:59
2. Ki Keshimcho (Text: attributed to Amnon of Mainz (11th century); Music: Asher Wieder/Kohn family/JL/Yuli Ya’el Be’eri) 4:44
3. Odom Yesodo intro (Sholom Katz) 0:41
4. Odom Yesodo (Text: attributed to Amnon of Mainz; Music: Sholom Katz/JL) 4:54
5. V’chol ma’aminim intro (Moshe Ganchoff) 0:50
6. V’chol Ma’aminim (Text: attributed to Yannai (6th century); Music: Moshe Ganchoff/JL) 5:03
7. Aderes Mamlocha (Text: Eleazer Hakalir; Music: JL) 3:05
8. Yishtabach intro (Perele Feig) 0:38
9. Yishtabach (Text: prayer book liturgy; Music: Berele Chagy/Perele Feig/JL) 6:19
10. M’loch intro (Pierre Pinchik) 0:19
11. M’loch (Text: high holidays liturgy; Music: Pierre Pinchik/JL) 4:09
12. Shema Koleynu, featuring Jacob Konigsberg (Text: high holidays liturgy; Music: Zawel Zilberts/Jacob Konigsberg/JL) 4:25
13. Adon Olam (Text: Shlomo ibn Gabirol (11th century); Music: Belz Hasidic/JL) 6:52