easily one of the strongest and most enjoyable records of the year.
Noetic Records: Noetic 002
Larry Stabbins: tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flutes, bass clarinet; Jim Barr: bass; Adrian Utley: guitar, synths, bass; Sebastian Rochford: drums
Recorded by T.J. Allen at J & J Studio, Bristol
A collection of 8 pieces that have the immediacy of collective improvisation. There is a strong rhythmic and harmonic logic across each piece that could be mistaken for the tunes being tightly scored so tight is this band. I liked the idea of dividing the CD into a Side A and a Side B, each with four tracks.
But, while there is light and shade across the pieces, from a snarling, exhilarating punk-jazz to move meditative, electronica drenched swirls, this doesn’t dictate the division of pieces between the two sides. Rather the order of the pieces with slow-burn or crashing starts and often abrupt endings takes the listener on a walking tour of a West Country underworld that is as captivating as it is frightening.
Not only is the music superb but it is a delight to have Stabbins back in the studio with two Portishead luminaries and with the UK’s (and, for me, the world’s) best drummer. Each musician brings such a wealth of knowledge to their playing that they can spontaneously invent musical patterns that the other players embellish without hesitation. The result is a combination of shuffling trip-hop rhythms, post-rock riffs and splintering chords, and Stabbins’ unique cross-genre lines that use the end of jazz as the point from which they begin. So, easily one of the strongest and most enjoyable records of the year.
