A welcome return with a cinematic and mesmeric groove-filled first studio LP in nine years, and the eighth over all by the eclectic Chicago post-rock/jazz/krautrock multi-instrumentalists Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker. The group have forged something of a cult following over three decades with their unique sound, and this latest set of instrumental pieces is one that grows in appeal with subsequent listens in this natural fusion of composition and improvisation. No track never extends over more than five minutes, and many are shorter, so there’s never a sense of indulgence or over-extension, with musical ideas repeating and morphing without ever going stale. Opener Vexations slips into a krautrock-ish thrum with a guitar sound riff that inspires scenes from a western. Layered Presence, with a surreal accompanying video of dancing, furry-headed figure on a desolate road, has a spacey spookiness. Another single, Oganesson, is a vivid exploration of texture and dissonance with jazz flavours. Works and Days has a sparse beauty, Elka a low bass thrum and an electronica sound that evokes the movement of a fast train, Axial Seamount a very pleasing, simple, krautrock guitar and bass groove, A Title Comes a more melancholy, darker flavour, while Rated OG plays across a variety of clever drum rhythms and a fuzzy bass riff with and chiming sounds and a cleaner guitar riff, all of which summons images of a spy movie. Intriguing, groovy, clever and stupendously sepia. Out on International Anthem / Nonesuch Records.
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