CHAPTER IV / BEFORE THE MURMUR OF SILENCE

Light Coorporation - typo intentional - is a band out of Poland that plays some wonderful avant garde fusion. There are plenty of times where it is smooth and normal, but the group has plenty of room for the jazz equivalent of breakdowns, plus all sorts of complexity and oddness. The band does lean heavily towards jazz rather than rock, but all is explored, and it works brilliantly. The listener is left to ride through calm sections of just off jazz, and more crazed and energetic sections that also really showcase their guitar. "Three Headed Monster Sight Unseen" is the best track, and really shows off their powerful, bonkers, rockier side to the fullest, with a bit of calm from time to time. Our sax and trumpet carry the day, but guitar is the best part when it shows up, played excellently and often distorted and played around with. It sometimes sounds like an oscillator! Bass is also wonderful, and vital. Above all spectacular music spectacularly played. This energetic avant fusion could stand alongside Etron Fou Leloublan any day. An experimental romp, highly recommended.

Polish band LIGHT COORPORATION was formed sometime around 2007, and their stated aim from the onset was to blend progressive rock and avantgarde jazz, and incorporating multimedia contents for their live performances. They made their debut with "Rare Dialect" in 2011, a production that saw them attached to the UK label ReR Megacorp (owned by former members of Henry Cow). Three more albums by the band have appeared since then. "Chapter IV: Before the Murmur of Silence", the most recent of those, was also released by ReR Megacorp ? in 2014.

"Chapter IV: Before the Murmur of Silence" comes across as a production that operates out from a foundation of jazz fusion or avant-garde jazz first and foremost, flavoring this foundation with some rock music elements without leaving the feeling of this being primarily a jazz album behind. A CD that merits a check by those who tend to be intrigued by improvised instrumental jazz, incorporating elements from challenging rock, rather than the other way round.