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Jim Black: Malamute
ByOn Malamute, Black leads a multinational acoustic-electric quartet that gels to off-kilter frameworks, centered in odd-metered phrasings; scalding rock grooves, progressive rock type blitzes and budding thematic developments. Here, saxophonist Óskar Guðjónsson's cozy and somewhat humble passages offer thought-provoking contrasts to pieces also devised with spooky electronics implementations, jostling cadences and mysterious sojourns.
Keyboardist Elias Stemeseder's grizzly EFX and noise-shaping treatments ride above Black's forceful attack, tempered by the saxophonist's whispery, low-key sax articulations. However, it's difficult to distinguish whether some of the electronics manipulations emanate from Black's use of a sampler on a per-track basis. But each piece casts a mélange of tonal qualities and disparate song-forms, occasionally leading to raw and scintillating cadenzas. Yet the following track "Just Turned Two," is classic Black as he drives the band through a jaunty rock pulse tinted with bizarre sounds.
"Full Dish" soars with a rapid ascent, once again lightened by the saxophonist's subdued and quietly melodic voicings. Other movements may suggest that the band is trying to elevate its craft into a four-dimensional space due to an abundance of creatively organized and executed passages that toss the underlying jazz or jazz rock activities into an interminable void.
Track Listing
Almost Awake; Toys Everywhere; Dusk Scout; Chase Rabbit; Into the Pool; Stray; Just Turned Two; Sought After; Cool Doze; Eat Everything; Full Dish; Pugged; No Leash.
Personnel
Jim Black
drumsÓskar Guðjónsson: saxophone (tenor); Elias Stemeseder: keyboards; Chris Tordini: electric bass; Jim Black: drums & sampler.
Album information
Title: Malamute | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Intakt Records