Necks, The

2X LP GATEFOLD EDITION

4 1/2 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

The Australian avant-jazz trio the Necks formed in 1987, and have consistently made improvised music that changes shape before your ears—often so gradually that the transformations are nearly imperceptible.

Travel, the group’s nineteenth studio album, showcases their singular style as effectively as any of their past work, with four songs of around twenty minutes apiece that focus on the shifting patterns of the bassist Lloyd Swanton and the drummer Tony Buck. Their grooves alternately surge and meditate, dominated by Swanton’s huge tone. Cunningly, the pianist and organist Chris Abrahams plays sparely and elliptically, beckoning the listener even when the rhythm section goes fully abstract.

PERSONNEL:

• Chris Abrahams - (piano, Hammond organ)
• Lloyd Swanton - (bass)
• Tony Buck - (drums)

TRACKS:

• LP ONE

• SIDE A. Imprinting ........ 17:14
• SIDE B. Bloodstream ........ 18:38
• ___________________________

• LP TWO