Featuring Craig Green on acoustic & electric guitars, electronics & compositions and Dave King on drums, percussion, vibes & piano. Although I had not heard of Craig Green before this disc, no doubt many know of the great drummer Dave King from the super-popular Bad Plus and Happy Apple. Starting with “Thin Blue Ice” which features stark piano and distant spooky drones. On “Faux Hawk,” Craig has a dark, sort-of Marc Ducret-like tone with some slow shredding guitar while David plays fine marching, jazz/rock drums. Craig plays some spacy, liquid-sounding guitar sounds on “Part 2″ while David plays some crafty metal percussion. Dave also plays some melodic, bluesy piano on a few of these pieces while Craig plays some superb, subtle jazz guitar. On each piece, both players change their sound or approach so that each piece sounds different. While David plays stark drums on “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Craig switches between acoustic and electric guitars to create different layers or textures. Rubbing the strings, eerie swirls of feedback and harmonics suspended in the air all add a mysterious vibe to this haunting piece. What I dig about this disc is the way both players don’t depend on any obvious melodic cliches but rather create music with focused sounds. Much of this disc has a more cinematic vibe, painting pictures and setting up certain scenes. A long and varied journey to some unexpected places.
Bruce Lee Gallanter