The three members of post-jazz trio Rymden seem to spend a large proportion of their time collaborating on other ventures; so when the time is right to reconvene, you can be assured that there are some fine ideas bubbling up.
Over eight tracks which are almost equally spread between the three writers — Bugge Wesseltoft on keys, Dan Berglund on bass and Magnus Öström on drums — they use the mellow side of jazz as a starting off point, but happily mix it with classical, pop and a more progressive leanings to lead the listener gently down unexpected side streets.
The slow build and patchwork percussion of the opener, drummer Magnus’s “Today Maybe Tomorrow”, is suffused with organ drift and structural bass. They produce a warm, fluid sound with the bass taking the melodic route as the organ adds spectral wafts in its wake. The trio is happy to wander and never constrained by form unless that is what the track demands and the Erik Satie-like piano interlude strikes out for pastures new. Bowed bass finds new impetus and the organ drifts into progressive realms, the invitation of space which they are unable to resist.
The eight pieces presented here are very different in sound and feel, so the dashing romantic piano of Bugge’s “Nightfall”, which is reminiscent of some of Billy Joel‘s more expressive work dabbling with classical structure, is so deliciously fleet of foot that the more melancholic pace and lower key approach of Dan’s “Valiant Revisited” is a dramatic change of pace. As a trio of songwriters, they are very generous with their particular pieces and each seems to know exactly how to offer the other players an ideal platform, always with an underlying rhythmic flow that is very easy to listen to.
The trip-hop rhythm of Dan’s “Undercover Lover” is a perfect opportunity for him to stretch the bass’s legs and open the rhythmic floodgates, with the dabbling keys lending an unexpected edge. The mournful bowed bass on Bugge’s “Here Now” has a quality akin to a viola and is more of an early hours walk through deserted streets, all energy now expended as the weary journey home takes in the unexpected pleasure of a slowly rising sun. The warm respectful tone that they bring to all the pieces here is a pleasure, even when the excitable bass brings turmoil to Bugge’s “Em”.
The album ends with the gentle spectral dream of Magnus’s “The Goodbye Song” and its generous welcome to all listeners well describes Rymden’s approach to song structure and album construction. Once again a suite of great warmth and generosity is ours for the enjoying, and sits well in their subtle and inexorable progress.
-Mr Olivetti-
