No Spaghetti Edition: Pasta Variations

Recorded live, this effort represents one of several new releases from the Norway-based avant-garde record label SOFA. The collective features British vocal improviser Phil Minton and fellow compatriot, keyboardist Pat Thomas as the duo augments a group of forward thinking Scandinavian artists. Here, drummer Ingar Zach and others align their improvisational wares for a set teeming with twisted dialogue and discombobulated tone poems. Nevertheless, the septet investigates a plethora of soundscapes via a sometimes, playful approach atop alien soundscapes. The musicians pursue cartoon-like imagery thanks to their generally, odd harmonic voicings and intermittent doses of wit and whimsy. Even though guitarist Ivar Grydeland is apt to put the pedal to the metal on occasion. They perpetuate an unusual balance of voicings, consisting of tenor saxophonist Hakon Kornstad’s boisterous escapades and Minton’s affable yet rather unruly vocalise. The listener might detect spirits hovering atop their listening quarters, as the band integrates chaotic passages into what might appear to be weird and wonderful dwellings. With this outing, the musicians simply goad our imaginations. Recommended.

SOFA