| Disc One's ten tracks equal almost-53 minutes of free-form combo-ism.
A moody crescendo of piano, sax and cymbals builds into Incision, then cuts away. Haunting trills are entwined in the windblown riffs of too-short Mistica (2:29). A bit of spooky-funhouse-of-glass-feeling runs through Two Sides; ringing glints seem to come from all over as drumhits spatter here and there. The track becomes more aggressive, rumbling ominously before returning to a softer mode. Traces of buzzily rhythmic electronica (courtesy of Zoom Quartet) are strewn behind the highs-and-lows of Springer's restless keyboarding.
Ivories tinkle and twinkle in a flurry, slowing as A Space Descends; sinuous strands flow from Springer's saxophone to be lightly beaten (and sometimes quite firmly rapped) by Deamer's thoughtfully-applied drumming.
Reedy sputters (or sputtery reeds) accent the cascading droplets of Bellbird's layered tiers of sparkling keys. Lighter doses of solo piano await in the opening of Fresh Eyes, rambling phrases soon grow denser and are joined by sax and drum.
CD Two (55:22) presents two extended solos (recorded live at the Union Chapel); the classical sensibilities of these tracks stay nearer to what one expects to hear in keyboard virtuosity, though are none the less gorgeous in this "safer" realm. In
Vertikal Pt -1 (29:45), trilling Steinway patterns rise and fall like rolling waves, forming numerous eddies, troughs and crests, seemingly as everchanging as the ocean's surface, with as many moods. Impressive and expansive!
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