When I read about this album a while back on Stef's blog I knew I wanted to check it out. It is an interesting update of the Tony Williams Lifetime power trio sound, in this case substituting bubbling, pulsing bass for Larry Young's surging organ. Guitarist and composer Adam Caine, joined by Tom Blancarte on bass and John Wagner on drums make very exciting and high energy music that draws from the intricate nature of jazz and go-for-broke energy of rock 'n' roll and free improvisation. Show-offy wanking fusion is the furthest thing from their mind, this is a tough unit working with a common goal of making creative music in the moment. "Ride The Tiger" is a scorching highlight exploring and creating the common ground between Sonny Sharrock and Sonic Youth. "Thousandfold" and "The Howl" take the music into freer more abstract realms, away from a regular pulse of the traditional song form to a feel of a surrealist musical landscape. Caine solos with great facility throughout the album and he is supported well by Blancarte and Wagner, they have played together long enough to work up a near telepathic energy that allows them to weave through complicated fast paced improvisations and abstract free interludes with success. I think that both fans of modern jazz and inquisitive fans of indie and progressive rock would find a lot to enjoy here. The music is exciting and alluring and deserves wider exposure.Thousandfold (mp3 version) - amazon.com
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