I’m not sure where the internal contradiction is in Ben Thomas’ album, where he plays bandoneon, vibes and percussion with Eric Likkel/c-bcl, Steve Schermer/b Gretchen Yanover/cel, Brandon Vance/v and Jonathan Geer/p. The music seems to make perfect sense, bringing together right Argentine sounds with an occasional klezmer feel. The strings and piano are only together for a handful of songs, making you beg for more, creating a rich framework for Likkel’s warm clarinet on “Tangent 7” and the agonizing “The Space Between”. Yonver hangs around for a bit longer, waltzing with Thomas’ vibes on “Blood Dimmed Tide” going dark on “Tangents” and rich and folksy with the leader’s bandoneon for “Something Ventured”. At times, Thomas plays vibes and the squeeze box, to exotic effect with bass clarinet on “Flights without Air” and the artsy “Little Birds” with the team dancing across the floor on “Eternal Aporia”. Exotic excursions.