Taupe – Waxing | Waning

Minority

The Taupe trio of Mike Parr-Burman on guitar / electronics, Jamie Stockbridge on saxes and Alex Palmer on percussion is a tight, tight thing. Playing so close they are almost picking one another’s pockets, their take on ‘cubist jazz’ fits the term perfectly; all hard angles and unexpected facets.

There is a high level of anxiety in the sound, with horns whinnying like spooked horses as the drums reel and buck. It doesn’t stay still for long, often nagging at a motif as if trying to wear it down and the odd combination of impotence and capability rears its head throughout. The circular motifs drill their way into your head, splintering and shattering; and although it appears chaotic, there is definitely some sort of demented order.

Manic recursive themes and drums that tang and bounce abound. They are constantly building something but at some extreme pace, as if the footage had been sped up and any elements of regularity which allow a drop of breathing space are overwhelmed. When you peek in a bit deeper, the apparent simple slips of sound are wound around and saturated. There is sense of frustration, as if they are trying to make a point and we are not grasping it sufficiently quickly — so they have to try another route.

There are moments of respite but they still have a sinister edge, slow and blind; tiny tones flicker in a clearing gloom, but they do like to tie structure to freedom and then sit back and wait to see what bursts first. The electronics brought in by Mike are another random factor and flash like strobes if the process becomes too stilted. Heavy power chords and stunned cattle wails throw an awkward metallic shower over the proceedings at one point, as if they had a vague recollection of what a doom metal band might have sounded like; but it doesn’t last.

The sense of constant movement is the overwhelming factor across the album and the three players enjoy being at odds with one another. For a brief breath, they will be captivated by a particular motif and chose to chase it around, growing more agitated as it refuses to do what it should. Towards the end, things slow a little, a shadowy progress, slow and careful, has synths striking a spooky angle. It feels out of reach, with the sax a solitary call just waiting to explode; but there is a kind of peace as the waves of sound recede.

On the final track, I had that feeling of watching Japanese commuters moving through the subway somehow avoiding one another even though there appears to be no space. You think the three elements are going to collide, but it never happens and this magical ability stays with us to the end.

-Mr Olivetti-