Tunnels, Progressivity

Whooooaaaaahh, what happened boys? You went and lost your guitarist, settled down into a power trio over the next few years and something magical has come out of it. Tunnels sound is still dense thanks to Percy Jones gorgeous sliding basslines and all the brilliance of Marc Wagnon's midi vibes keep you guessing what the hell he's patching in there, but the layers are now pulled apart and you've got more space than before. I think Frank Katz likes the new elbowroom, he's suddenly found a jazz voice, rimshot shuffles and cymbals spread out into the mix where before he seemed compressed into a corner and stuck on his straight-ahead snares. Listen to how his solo breaks have matured since the previous albums.

Now it's opening up on the second track. Old "Brand X" sparring partner John Goodsall is along for the ride on this and two other tracks, and what a difference his abilities are to the previous Tunnels guitarist, out-of-depth Van Manakas. Also in is ultra-imaginative violinist Mark Feldman, who replaced Jerry Goodman in "The Flock", playing on four tracks in all, who has an amazing aptitude to get right inside a tune. Good move bringing him on board. Angel-voiced Sarah Pillow is also sampled for two of the cuts.

Again Wagnon is the primary force behind the strong compositions, but there's more co-author credits than before and the sound sounds more integrated with multi-faceted melodies spread across several principal instruments / midi patches, dissecting the tune and reassembling it at a furious pace. Concrete song structures save the whole lot collapsing into rubble.

The highlight is possibly Wagnon's beboppy title track with great vibes and violin taking the leads, and the rhythm section sounding just about as tight as they can get. Although, the more open, extended jam-like "7,584,333,440 miles away" is a terrific journey through some very wild and unkempt out-of-this-world, hairy, musical, industrial territory, and the penultimate "orfeo's demon" is an intriguing and admirable, highly produced fusion with hip-hop.

Wow, what a difference a few years makes! An altogether superior, expertly crafted studio recording from musicians who are audibly getting to know each other very well, bringing the best out of each other and producing some incredibly innovative work along the way. Good progress indeed.