Secondary Deviations review from Paris Transatlantic

Here is a review of digital download recording available on Ayler Records:

There's an art to selecting a lead-off cut for an album, and "Welcome Steps" probably wasn't the best choice, but once the disjointed individual tempos have melded into a dog-chasing-its-tail frenzy, it gets a lot more appealing, culminating in guttural blasts from alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs and the braying trumpet of Forbes Graham. The other pieces here are much more convincing. Jacob William plays the syncopated bass line of "Palm Dance" with such insistence throughout its 13 minutes that when he finally drops out for a drum solo by Croix Galipault (who begins the track with woodblock and light cymbal taps, working gradually up to fevered press-rolls) you feel the absence. Hobbs and Graham's exchanges over this potent rhythmic brew are consistently inventive: Graham, in particular, has a Steve Lacy-like tendency to repeatedly deconstruct his own lines, though at other times his playing has a brashness recalling Lester Bowie. "Rishi Dance" is 22 minutes long yet keeps interest from flagging by varying its motifs constantly, and is anchored by William's two beautiful bass solos at its centre. "Upload Method" features harshly percussive playing by the altoist, while the rest of the group alternately works in tandem with him or in counterpoint. On the brief, sprinting "Repetition" the horns play near-parallel lines that converge sporadically on extended unisons, with the rhythm section clearing the way; it makes for a thrilling conclusion to the record.
So who do these guys sound like? An immediate point of comparison would be a contemporary group like the Empty Cage Quartet, but (though perhaps it's excessively high praise) I'm most consistently reminded of early Art Ensemble recordings collected in the Nessa box, way before they added "of Chicago" to their name. Plus, if the liners didn't indicate otherwise, I could believe this was recorded in somebody's basement.–SG

Apocalyptik Paranoia review from Paris Transatlantic

Dan Warburton wrote a very complementary review of a cd I played on. Appreciated.

Even if you didn't know that Weasel Walter, the mad driving force behind the wonderfully vicious and perennially exciting (but currently on sabbatical?) Flying Luttenbachers, is a musician singularly dedicated to "speed, velocity and violence", you could probably guess as much by looking at him on the cover of Apocalyptik Paranoia, all decked out in studs and bullets. But pop the disc into the machine with trembling hands and you may be surprised by the delicate spiky acoustic guitar (Henry Kaiser, one of Weasel's most frequent playing partners since his move to California a while back) and skittery toms and woodblocks on the opening "Scintillations". Think Bailey and Bennink – and that's a compliment. But by the time track two – "Raging War" indeed – kicks in, you know you're back on WW's familiar battlefield. Kaiser's on this as well, but here he's gone electric and plugged himself into something simply monstrous. Sounds like cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm has too. Not that the fourth member of the quartet, trumpeter Forbes Graham, can't handle it all. It's a trumpeter's treat, this album: as well as Graham, Peter Evans (whose lips by rights should be insured for about as much as Jennifer Lopez's ass) and Greg Kelley (no slouch when it comes to blowing himself silly either) also make appearances. Nor is it all apocalyptik: on "Still Life" and "Threnody" - a nod to Penderecki there? - Weasel and Kaiser return to the acoustic intricacy of "Scintillations", while Kelley and Evans huff and puff each other's houses down. Of course, if it's too nice for you you can always skip forward to "Mass Erection" and burn your own house down – or crank it up loud enough and wait for the neighbours to come and do it for you.–DW