Rating: NNN
These Vancouver instro improvisers are that rare breed of band that can chameleon its way into a jazz festival, get props from that set, then open for a Tortoise-type indie heavyweight and have the back-of-the-club beard-strokers tapping a toe in approval. As with most in the art rock, jazz fusion arena, there’s an inherent degree of pretension (such as calling one song Here, You Are Hated and another Here You Are, Hated), but this septet, which includes avant-garde violinist Jesse Zubot, two drummers and founding member Stephen Lyons, among others, didn’t bloat the disc with self-indulgent, grandiose arrangements and a needless abstract concept. Instead, it’s a fairly spry album that doesn’t waste a minute, cascading unpredictably between textual soundscapes, jazzy head-spinners and bunch of cool, vibey atmospherics.
Fond of Tigers prowl the Music Gallery Friday (May 18).
