SURPRISE

Wonderful album!

When I wrote my first Spaltklang review I mentioned that this is a band that I've been listening a lot for the last couple of months, and I have to confirm it, because I keep listening to them with the same enthusiasm I had when I got their albums. The fact is that the more you listen to their music, the more you are addicted to it, the reason: awesome music.

This Swiss quartet has developed some of the most exquisite instrumental avant-jazz I've recently discovered, so please if you can, get their albums, or at least start with one. This is their second effort released in 2004, and so far I may say my favorite Spaltklang album. It features eight compositions and a total time of 53 minutes.

The first song is pretty important because it introduces you to the music, so if a first track is good, then you will keep listening; I mention this because the first composition entitled "Inmitten" is one of my favorite tracks on the album, I believe they chose a perfect starting song, full of colors and textures, with great mood and music changes and different elements that together create a superb song.

Next is "Überall", a fast track that will make you move your body, the rhythm maintains you expectant all the time. I really like the bass sound here because in my opinion it produces a great but dark atmosphere. A minute later some strange change appear with electronic sounds reminding me to some sci-fi films, if you close your eyes you may feel in space, in another galaxy. Later violin appears and mark the beginning of a new structure that little by little arises.

"Patterns" is an excellent track that since the very first seconds will catch your attention, maybe due to the repetitive yet addictive sound it creates for more than a minute, then it slows down and create a tranquil atmosphere where the instruments are playing some random notes. A couple of minutes later the music explodes and some kind of chaos appear (I like chaos) and will put a smile on you. The saxophone sound is especially great.

"Sadness" starts very slow, I assume the music has to do with the name of the song, that is why that soft sound prevails, and a disarming atmosphere is created. After minute three there is some kind of tension, like if you felt despair of reaching a goal. Then the music slows down again and follows the same path until the very end.

"Irgendwo" seems to continue with the same feeling that the previous track had, this is actually a difficult song because you are dragging the last song mood, so with this you may feel even tired in some moments, but if you are patient enough, then a couple of minutes later you will have your reward. I like how they managed to create different moods in one single track. The last couple of minutes show the musician's skills and create a challenging sound. Great progressive song!

Again the bass sound is a highlight for me, in this song entitled "Spuren" which is another of my favorite tracks here. The repetition of the bass sound does not bore me, on the other hand, creates a true addiction, but the good thing is that the addiction does not restrict me of appreciating the other instruments, so I can easily enjoy each member's work, because all of them together complement each other, if one of them fails, then the music would not be the same.

"Flammen" is another great example of the great musicianship, the quality of the four members of the band and their abilities to compose first-class music. This eight-minute track transports you to another world due to the complexity of the music and the different nuances it produces. I really like the work of the saxophone sound here, but well, as I've mentioned, this is a complete quartet where the four people have the same importance.

And last but not least, "So weit das Auge reicht" which starts slowly with the violin but it gradually progresses until becoming in a strong and really interesting track. Again the changes within the structure are noticeable and challenging, the drums are especially good here. Minutes later they combine the electronic (spacey) elements with the distinctive Spaltklang sound (violin, sax, bass, drums) and end this album in an excellent way.

My final grade will be four stars, easily. If you manage to get their music, it won't let you down, believe me.

Enjoy it!

SPALTKLANG were a four piece band out of Switzerland led by the very talented Markus Stauss, the composer and sax player. This is his band and they've released five studio albums since 2002 with "In Between" from 2013 being the last time we've heard from them. The first four albums featured the same lineup but on that last one they changed considerably with the viola and bass players leaving. Markus didn't replace the viola, but instead brought in a trumpet player. And the bass player was replaced by a double bass player. The results of the last album left a lot of fans disappointed.

The attraction of the music on those first four records is the melody and beauty contrasted with powerful avant stylings of the first order. The drummer adds keyboards to great affect. The soprano sax and viola tend to solo while the dynamite rhythm section just kills on here. So you can imagine how their sound changed on that final release "In Between". They touch on avant/jazz, even free jazz on this 2004 release but rarely, and that is contrasted with those adult contemporary jazz moments and chamber music passages. They do lose me at times with those last two sub genres I just mentioned, but this is one impressive album. Eight tracks worth about 54 minutes.

That opener got my attention with the viola playing over that rhythm section. Sax will replace the viola and the sound turns more powerful. Then the tempo picks up. The sax is dissonant at times and I like the calm with those synths and viola leading. More dissonant sax 5 minutes in. "Patterns" is just that with the punchy and intricate sounds and almost a swinging style with the viola. The sax is adventerous and incredible here.

"Sadness" is interesting despite meandering a lot. It's like everything is restrained early on. "Irgendwo" is my favourite. Some power and heaviness before a minute then it settles back as bass and viola take over. Love that bass! And it's upfront throughout the whole album. There's this KING CRIMSON vibe on this song which is a "surprise" indeed. It's fairly powerful at 3 1/2 minutes with sax over top then the rhythm section starts to drive this one hard 6 minutes in.

This is a consistently good album just the way I like them. A very solid 4 stars. And I really hope the original lineup returns one day.