Tu-Ner: Rendezvous Rodeo

There is nothing Western-sounding about this rodeo—very far from it—but it does feel like a sort of rendezvous by virtue of returning to somewhat familiar territory. Granted, "familiar" also means wildly bizarre and occasionally terrifying, but anyone who knows these names should expect nothing less. Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn are best known as a beastly rhythm section in the King Crimsons of the '90s and early '00s, while touch guitarist Markus Reuter has plenty of the same musical DNA through connections with various members of the band. Inevitably, the Crimson "good fairy" is a key presence here, but its electro-industrial-prog-rock sound is stretched into a different variation reflecting the shades of this unique combo—a distinct personality among the family of Crimson offshoots, but with the same ability to shred eardrums and brain cells in the craziest ways.

Where Tu-Ner's first two studio outings were double sets consisting of all-new experiments and improvisations, this live one is more of a homecoming that visits touchstones across all their careers. Reuter does some impressively heavy lifting on the brain-melting "The ConstruKction of Light," sometimes singlehandedly re-creating the piece's twisty dual-guitar lines, sometimes weaving a new lead that captures its celestial scope in his own way. If that high-wire act is merely ridiculously tricky, the burn-the-room-up ferociousness through "Larks' Tongues in Aspic part IV" sounds almost physically impossible.

On the other end of the scale, the trio also loves a good slow burn: They go all the way back to jam on a groove from the early '90s David Sylvian-Robert Fripp collaboration early on, then take an extended late-set excursion on a Reuter trance composition built on mathematical precision and exceptional patience. A piece from Gunn's second solo album gets resurrected with mantric touch-guitar lines over undulating tabla, while an iconic early Gunn-Mastelotto duo track gives everyone further space to stomp and wail. It may be disappointing that the set only leaves a couple spots for the trio's all-original jams, but their restlessness will undoubtedly continue leading to more of those down the line. Whatever the mode, they remain endlessly ready to challenge and amaze.