Rachel Eckroth & John Hadfield: Speaking In Tongues

There is something wistful and empowering about wanderlust pianist/composer/electronics Rachel Eckroth's acoustic sensibility that holds a lot of sway with many of her listeners. This falls into direct opposition to her electronic side which, as cool as it sounds, can lean a tad too easily into the blurry, pop-oriented tendencies of Vangelis, Kraftwerk, or Gary Newman. Sure Eckroth makes these endearing old genres sound exciting now, but it is her pure piano playing that truly does the trick.

Following on the heels of the rolling opener, the Joe Jackson-ish "God's Particle"  Eckroth's primed piano is up to all kinds of hopping hijinks on "Joan DeArc." Following its osmosis by actively blending her acoustics with her electronics, the track is made double good by listening to her most engaged co-conspirator, drummer John Hadfield keep up with her pulls and punches. It is a skittish performance, much like Charlie Chaplin skating up to the edge then figure-eighting backward to spin towards it again. It is a neat trick that Eckroth and Hadfield pull off masterfully under attentive ears throughout Speaking In Tongues.

"Blood Moon," for example, is another of those hybrids sporting a pop-jumpy bass line that finds Hadfield skidding through and around the tempo while Eckroth enjoys herself immensely at her Steinway Grand. She holds tight to that enjoyment with "Sanctus," an extremely beautiful statement that Hadfield punctuates accordingly. The wrap-around logic of "The Gospel Of,"  "Andromeda," and especially the reflectively hushed until it gets all jaunty "The Jesus Side" holds the imagination much like the Esbjorn Svensson still does to this very day. 

The title track holds its cards close to the vest. All synched out and percussive "Speaking In Tongues" starts over on one side of the electric/acoustic divide then pivots from there only to pivot again and again into a barely controlled tailspin that Hadfield slams to a close. Adhering to the overall themes of Eckroth's and Hadfield's inventions  —mythology, religion, astronomy—"Phase and Libration Part 1" and "Part 2" are triumphs of the collaborative spirit. Without a vestige of doubt, an early best-of-2025 contender.