This is the band's fourth contribution to Thirsty Ear's Blue Series, and it's their most unabashedly beautiful album yet, showcasing elegant trumpet and sax phrasing, meaty and textural bass playing, and sensitive drumming. Slow, delicate chord progressions provide the backbone for focused, introspective improv and a meditative atmosphere.
L**U
Coxon and Wales liberate music
Remote from the bustle of the dance and jig milieu, I chose this cd for reasons of curiosity. Could John Coxon, whose saucepan + cornflake-packet offerings of yore I was aware of have truly penetrated the pulsating infrastructure of sound lore? This compact disc was both a revelation and a relief. All 8 tracks on the album are witness to acute musical sensibility, a finely tuned sense of where acoustic aesthetics can blossom, and a childlike humour that is witheringly emancipatory. There is virtually nothing that one could criticise: no superfluity, no affectation, and only a modest yet decent dose of narcissistic despondency. The music is fun and, at the same time, deeply exploratory. General assessment: simply spiffing. Coxon and Wales and all the collaborators on this album demonstrate that avant garde does not necessarily imply hot cross buns. I give it four stars plus one for style, which makes five altogether.
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