A scruffy but well meaning jazz fusion record that is ok in small bursts but exhausting as a whole album. Why ? Well, there are a number of issues I have with it. Firstly, I thought I was making up the lack of synchronicity between the drummer and the bassist but after repeated listens I still feel like they weren’t in the same room recording this. It’s like there’s some sort of lag, admittedly measurable in milliseconds, but definitely there which means that listening to this album becomes more and more strenuous. My second issue is that the bassist is way too interested in slap bass for my liking, which when combined with the frantic sax playing and extremely busy drumming means that this record comes across like an extremely hyperactive but sloppy Acoustic Ladyland. A final criticism would be that there is rarely a melody you can hang on to, or even a groove one can settle into, with each song starting somewhere and rarely returning to the same place. There are a lot of notes (as someone once said).
The best thing about this album is the excellent sax work. Whoever is playing it is clearly very talented and it is their contribution, with its range of styles from shriek and squeak to clean melodic lines that provides the saving grace; that and the fact that you can get it for free on Bandcamp.
Kim Monaghan
