This is an ambitious two disc set featuring the core team of tenor saxist Trevor Hogg, guitarist Don Scott, Michael Herring on bass with drummer Nick Fraser along with guests Michael Davidson/vib, Craig Harley/key, Jean Martin/org-synth and Chris Pruden/synth. The two discs are divided into “Irrational Revelation” and “Mutual Humiliation”, thus explaining the album title.
The centerpiece for IR is a “Reconciliation Suite” that includes brooding overtures by Hogg, eventually climaxing into an aggressive King Crimsonish synthesis of sound and carnage. Monkish angles take place on “Brooklyn’s Bearded” and the team bops well to “Hanging In, Hanging On, Hanging Out”. On the MH disc, angular post bop pieces are featured on “Title Crisis” and a rich cadence by vibes and drums are produced on “S N A Kee SSS”. Scott’s guitar is clever on “N12” and dark on the reflective “National Humiliation Society”. A shadow of melancholy hovers over the entire two disc set, making one wish for a few gleams of light to shine through.