Fire - You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago [Rune Grammofon - 2009]Fire are a new Swedish uptight yet hypnotic and sternly psychedelic jazz and rock textured project that features the talents of Mats Gustafsson (The Thing) on saxophones and Fender Rhodes, Johan Berthling (Tape) on bass, electric guitar and Hammond organ and Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums) on drums. The album offers up four tracks in that hit between the three to near on the eighteen minute mark. Each track here is built around the stern ‘n’ moody back bone of the bass & fairly cymbal heavy drum attack that hints at controlled aggression. Over this we have Gustafsson's emotional seared to burnt psychedelic sax wails & bays, moody & sustained Hamound organ dwells, slow momtion gitar texturing/ feedback throbs, and tone blocks, & even some distant, wondring but effective female jazz talk & moan by Mariam Wallentin (Carnival (4), Wildbirds & Peacedrums). The longer tracks( the middle two of the four) show the collective nicely building to more rocking & stuck King Crimson like jazz rock grooves & workouts, through they still return to the uptight bass & drums base often. All told the album nicely snakes, moodily grooves & moves along in a rewarding & consistent manner. Another very rewarding project linked to seemingly always recording or playing live Mats Gustafsson. The album really nicely sits somewhere between jazz, rock & psychedelics but does it all in quite an urgent, stern & modern sounding manner. Roger Batty
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