Tellef Øgrim: LAIV

There are very good reasons not to approach animals in the wild. Chief among them is survival. Sure, all those nature documentaries and children's cartoons show the playful offspring romping in nature's glory. What they fail to reveal is the eviscerated body of the gentle nature photographer who got too close.

You might not have been in attendance at BrÖtz, a club in Gothenburg, Sweden in the fall of 2017, and maybe that is a good thing. Listening to LAIV by the trio Uuskyla Øgrim & Berg from the safety of your home affords you protection from these feral musicians. Hyperbole? Yes, but this live date has a ferocity that dares you to turn the knob on your listening devices to max.

The single 42-minute track allows for no questions and takes no prisoners. In contrast to the group's studio debut, Ulrr (Simlas, 2017), with its six organized tracks and outward plan, this date is unfiltered, raw. Hearing the musicians in their natural state is the purest experience. Arguably, that has been the best way to capture Peeter Uuskyla's drums when he records with Peter Brötzmann, and this trio live smashes the power of rock into jazz. Maybe it is the Nordic element here, because it seems that their long, dark and cold winters are felt on this recording. With heavy pulse, the procession of sound continually blisters Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Sharrock and Jack Bruce. This disc reminds me of the response we used to give to complainers, "If it's too loud, then you're too old."

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