Dave King is a brave-hearted musician that can swing sweetly one moment, then quickly erase any notion of slang-a-Lang as he smashes his drum kit to a pulp. As he does in The Bad Plus, King makes defying expectation his mission on this collaboration with guitarist Craig Green. But Green and King don’t simply play guitars, drums and occasional piano; they bang on gongs, trample foot pedals and slide combs against strings.
There are multiple paths into this music, which is entirely improvised. It works well in the semi-pastoral “Walk Left” with Green shaking his guitar neck to create glowing, skittering effects, will King plays piano like some son of Thelounious Monk set afire. They cross sentiments and met in lyrical moments. “Rock, Paper, Scissors” is equally fascinating, its martial snare drumming and erie treated piano recall Chinese warlords
pillaging a village.
King scalds the sense on the speedy “Part 3″ ripping his brushes as Green’s guitar produces menacing tones. Sometime this collaboration is more “beat it with your fist” that massage your temples, as in the noisy
“Faux Hawk”; less would have been more here. However, King and Green never overstay their invitation.