Guitarist Ari Joshua teams up with groovemeisters John Medeski/key, Billy Martin/dr and Jason Fraticelli for a soul/jazz version of punk rock, with each tune a catchy 1-2 minutes of power before moving on to the next piece.
There are 27, count ‘em, 27 songs in all, and they come and go like windows on a train. There are four versions of the title piece, with a mix of tapes and militaristic drums working around brooding keys. Eerie and effects pass by on “Beyond The Vail” and the ominous “Let There Be Light” with some space cadet tones floating into The Neutral Zone on “Floating In The Void”. Wind chimes and crystal sounds float around on “Ghost Convention” while the percussion scrambles around like loose mercury on “The Bog”. The team digs into the funky “Tooth and Nail” and get chunky on the funky “Celestial Navigation” with noodles flying around like a soup kitchen on “Connection Granted and “The Meeting Begins”. Lots of clever ideas, enough to stick to the walls long enough to try stretching them out a bit next time. Pencil sketches of songs to come?