Naked Truth: Avian Thug

Avian Thug is this multinational quartet's third release and was recorded in England after the completion of a 2013 tour and offers more of the band's explorative powers, intimating similes of treks into mysterious galactic corridors. Comparisons to the electric Miles Davis era and so on are in order, but this unit gels to heavyweight cadences amid electric trumpeter Graham Haynes' stark pronouncements; brisk modern jazz flurries and succinctly stated melodic choruses. No doubt, they straddle a contemporary electronics-induced jazz rock domain, abetted by keyboard wiz Roy Powell's resourceful bag of tricks, steeped within his use of analog synths, organ and prepared piano implementations. It's a multihued presentation, featuring the highly respected rhythm section of drummer Pat Mastelotto and Naked Truth founder, bassist Lorenzo Feliciati.

The band paints a foreboding but thoroughly happening musical vista. On "Trap Door" Haynes' flickering notes and echoing EFX-based treatments augment a mid-tempo bustling groove with a touch of frantic momentum, as the musicians sound like troops aligning for battle. "Avian Thug," commences with Powell's synth lines that seemingly mimic a bunch of laughing gremlins. Moreover, the keyboardist and Haynes dish out blitzing unison choruses with fluid developments, tinted with bizarre regions of sound and jazzy escapades. The final and lengthiest track "Moon at Noon," transitions the listener to a blissful ambient-electronica vibe, formed with minimalism and the trumpeter's reverberating parts, followed by the bassist's supple underpinnings and the drummer's potent backbeats. Nonetheless, Naked Truth's multidimensional mosaics combine power, grace, and yet another visit into an indescribable netherworld.

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