Headed up by Nostalgia 77 bassist Riaan Vosloo, Brighton-based five-piece jazz / electronics outfit Examples Of Twelves also include classically-trained trumpet player Fulvio Sigurta, saxophonist Johnny Spall and Nostalgia 77 founder member Graham Fox on drums. With each of the aforementioned members having amassed some serious credentials working with the cream of the current Modern British Jazz scene including Spring Heel Jack, Keith Tippett and Art Theman you’d be forgiven for expecting some impressive fireworks in store on this second album, released on Vosloo’ own Impossible Ark label. Two years on, this follow-up to 2006′ debut “The Way Things Were’ sees EOT crafting a three-part suite that takes part of its structure from Dylan Thomas’ poem “And Death Shall Have No Dominion’, collecting 16 individual tracks into three free-flowing sections, respectively subtitled “Beginnings/Endings’, “The Madness?’ and “Though Lovers Be Lost, Love Shall Not.’
The first six tracks that make up “Beginnings / Endings’ slowly emerge at first from a whirling, atmospheric intro section comprised of electronic textures and drones, before fluid double-bass and snares lock down, taking proceedings off on a streamlined wander through free-jazz piano figures and slightly eerie minor chords that beautifully incorporates subtle traces of squealing, sped-up cassette tape samples, before culminating in a gorgeously brooding improvised trumpet and piano solo breakdown that calls to mind one of The Cinematic Orchestra’ more introspective and smoky moments. By contrast, “The Madness?’ gets considerably more menacing, shifting from low-slung double-bass runs, dubbed-out broken snares and digitally-processed background chatter, before venturing into a comparatively more sanguine middle section that blends warm, rolling piano keys with clattering snare breakdowns and lush swells of double-bass, while shimmering synthetic drones and skittering KAOSS pad delays add a stray trace of sci-fi gleam to the mix.
Finally, “Though Lovers Be Lost…’ represents the deep, contemplative coda to this collection, pushing trailing piano figures through disorienting pitch-shifting and delay, before crashing, digitally-reassmembled snares crash down like a thunderstorm into the mix amidst majestic horn swells and ebbing electronic background ambience that descends down into a whirl of treated horn soloing that recalls Ben Neill and Toshinori Kondo’ mutant trumpets. An extremely impressive album that nicely manages to balance its considerable technicality with a grasp of the bigger emotional picture – fans of The Cinematic Orchestra and the Nostalgia 77 Octet’s lush arrangements should be delighted with “The Way Things Are.’
