Face Value

And I must say it’s both a wonderful engaging album, which marvellously darts, twists, and broods… Let's hope there is more to come from Transition Unit!.

It seems as if we are dealing with a double bass at the beginning of ‘Idea Assumption’, the opening of ‘Face Value’, but it is really Serries, busy with his bow. The beginning of a strikingly abstract piece, certainly in comparison with the music on ‘Canonical Discource’. Pinheiro scatters his notes around, while we hear Lencastre, now on tenor sax, fill in the gaps. A recalcitrant piece, this rather short opener. ‘Grasping’ then initially sounds very melodious, with elongated movements by Lencastre and well-placed notes by Pinheiro and further on Serries and it is remarkable how the abstraction enters here later on and completely pushes away that melody. It is downright stormy in ‘A Western Decorative Pattern’, Lencastre finally tears the peace to shreds with his tenor sax, forming beautiful duets with Pinheiro, while Serries keeps the whole thing going. In the duet between Pinheiro and Serries, further on, things become calmer, but no less abstract. ‘Face Value’ is a very exciting piece, especially because of the rather dark, minimalist piano touches and the gritty sound of Serries. Extremely subdued sounds initially in ‘A Theme of Myth’, somewhat casual. However, the tension quickly rises again, especially because of the powerful movements of Lencastre and Pinheiro. We end this album with ‘The Utopian Dadaist’, an almost clownishly jumpy piece, with beautiful rhythmic patterns, in perfect coherence.