For Master Oogway‘s second album, they find themselves aptly on Rune Grammofon, home of many jazz outliers for whom pigeonholes are not to be regarded. The simmering tension that opens Earth And Other Worlds on “Heracleion” is a case in point; a gentle sax line indicates a slow build of something, cymbals and the ghost of guitar fizz in the background, making themselves known, scatting and dropping out to near silence until something snaps and it burst into life, enveloping the listener with the loosest interpretation of jazz that owes more to some later prog with the heavy tones of a surprising guitar solo.
It is an unexpected sound from four guys, three of whom are just out of the Norwegian Academy of Music and one still in the fazz programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and promises much, which happily the group are more than able to deliver. “Brother Bear Lives Here” shares some similarities with the opening track, but Karl Erik Horndalsveen‘s electric bass is far more apparent and its frantic pace really propels the track, pushing the guitar on to higher things. Guitarist Håvard Nordberg Funderud is the writer here, and it seems at the outset that there is a prevalence to the pieces being based around the guitar, with plenty of opportunity for him to indulge in diversions that owe more to Jimi Hendrix than to Django Reinhardt.
They have clearly studied jazz thoroughly, but when Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll‘s harmonic sax lets loose on “Brother Bear Lives Here”, the jagged guitar scrapes and squeals are very far from home, the angular abrasion reminiscent of Andy Gill or some post-punk firebrand, all odd time signatures and volte faces. The fact that the sax sounds like a bluebottle trapped in a jar with some angry hornets is just par for the course. There is more space on “Other Earths”, soporific brushed drums and short, repetitive hammered tones change the vibe completely, which clears the air for the dirty, blues guitar of “Garmonbozia”. Here, the rhythm section gives it real propulsion, but it is nasty, slow and purposeful, erupting into mayhem before recovering and staggering off, reeling with onlookers screaming and crying. The overblown glory of the guitar is cooled by the sax, but it is drummer Martin Heggli Mellem who really calls the shots here, constantly manipulating the rhythm, like shifting sand over which the rest of the group must navigate. The more you listen, the more there is to enjoy in Martin’s drumming; it has lovely texture on the Tortoise-like “Other Worlds”. Something about the slow, sinuous build up allows the sax and guitar to whinny and wallow at their leisure and really sets you up for the tour de force of the final track, which blasts along alleyways and bursting around corners, regardless of what hazards may be there. Jumping into a kind of progressive jazz groove, they prowl like a gang on the hunt, blood up and adrenaline flowing, the sax leading them on, squawking ever higher as the rest of the group watch with raised eyebrows. There is barely an opportunity for the listener to catch their breath, let alone the band; and then as quickly, they vanish and silence pervades once again.Earth And Other Worlds sounds like the start of a very promising career and I Iook forward to the next chapter.
-Mr Olivetti-
