I keep thinking that I’ll only be reviewing this or that ONE, SINGLE free jazz release of the year. But lo- 2013 seems to be rife with some solid stuff in this category, so either there’s more of it happening lately, or you just don’t read about it very often. Or I have no idea what I’m talking about. Or (most likely) it’s a combination of all three. From Sheldon Siegel to Nick Millevoi, and now here there appear to be a couple in USSR’s recent batch of tapes, so be it I say, especially since each and every one of these has been unique, interesting, and quite good. In the case of our friends from Vancouver (Matthew Read and John Brennan as Mold Grows on Baby, which… yeah, the name), we have a tenor sax and drum duet treading through a number of improvisations that take each instrument to textural extremes while never coming off as incessant honking or interminable banging. Granted, there’s some downright eye-squinting squelches of saxophone and bone-rattling thumps going on at various moments of dynamic climax, but still, all inflections are done with a light, artistic stroke of the sonic brush, there to counteract the real melodies and rhythms at play within the core of this duet’s sound. And those are indeed the real sweet spots on the cassette, when that great Trane tone is out front and center. Playfully improvised fun that wanders its way through a number of tempos and dynamics… It’s free jazz, kids. I think you know whether or not you like this. (Hint: you do).
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