Australia’s post-jazz, post everything group I Hold The Lion’s Paw are back with a follow up to 2021’s well-received Lost In Place. What was originally a loose collective based around trumpeter Reuben Lewis is now a quartet and they push on from Reuben’s previous ventures and with the assistance of vocalists Tariro Mavondo and Michelle Nicolle tear up any kind of rule books, playing with and merging sounds and styles as if it were the most natural thing.
Tariro Mavondo’s poetry opens proceedings with some searching existential words which travel with force over a skipping abstraction that finds the players searching for some momentum. The shuffling soundscape highlights the words and is actually an interesting insight into the group’s psyche. There is no obvious jazz reference, just a meandering stew of sound which the following “Prime Time” stretches into more lucid shapes; Adam Halliwell‘s bubbling bass and the scuffling percussion of Ronny Ferella have their own itchy agenda, while Reuben’s sleepy trumpet merges with the synths of Emily Bennett to create a predatory union, their cool progress constantly shifting as other textures scour the backdrop.
The abrupt stop-start rhythm of the short “Thank You” introduces Emily’s eclectic vocal approach, her condescending wordplay bouncing off the brittle rhythm. Vocals are used sparingly across the album and always in unexpected ways, but with just over half of the tracks instrumental, they take full advantage of adventurous opportunities, be it delivering a funky groove on the synth soaring “Mechanical Ghosts”, its surreptitious prowl hiding in the street shadows; or the more trumpet-led title track, the rhythm section upping a gear, forcing the sparse trumpet to merge with neon guitar flickers. The song morphs subtly, with the sinuous trumpet the only constant. “Leave” is a neo-soul slow burn, the autotune duet keeping the voices hidden until they gradually emerge as if from a cocoon, while the acoustic guitar and flute-led “Progressive Opposition” revels in another variant of the scuffling rhythm. Sounds circle and resonate in the background as the sea sway of synths rise and fall. There is a prog element to the sound here and they clearly enjoy sweeping any expectations away as the heart-murmur flute is buoyed by an awakening bass.“Big Bois” contains more vocal experimentation, Emily clearly enjoying the sounds and sensations of a set group of words as an awkward rhythm writhes in their wake. The trumpet jives around the scattered syllables, creating an odd duet, while Michelle Nicolle’s vocal approach on closer “When The Earth And Sky Conspired” is almost the antithesis, creating a glorious sky-searching spiritual jazz piece that finds the quartet pulling out all the stops to provide a suitable backing to her jazz soul purity. Percussion matches the range of the voice, high notes carried by a roiling surf as the trumpet drifts. This is perhaps the ultimate example of the band’s vision, gradually stretching the sound as if trying to strip it to its bare molecules while the voice dissipates into the clear blue sky.
It is quite an emotional end to a dramatic tour de force of wilful experimentation over a barely recognisable post-jazz framework and one that demands repeated listens to fully grasp the scope.-Mr Olivetti-
