VALI

PHLOX are from Estonia and they play an Avant Jazz style of music. I discovered them around 2009 with their 2007 release and became a fan. I have their next two studio recordings plus this their only live album released in 2013. This album is taken from a live broadcast they did for a radio station in Estonia with a small audience on April 25, 2012. Interesting that of the seven tracks five were previously unreleased while the final two songs are from that 2007 album called "Rebimine + Voltimine". A six piece here with an extra percussionist and typically it's the sax, guitar and electric piano soloing over the rhythm section. The sax player is quite the performer taking the music into Avant territories at times with his experimental and dissonant playing.

These guys did it right as the first two tracks are killers and then it ends with the two known songs that are taken into more extreme regions compared to the studio versions. I guess that's why they added to the titles as in "Hunt(5 Minutes To Armageddon Version)" and "Kurehirm(Doom Night Ornithology Special)" haha. While the sax blows me away the guitar isn't far behind, the man can play. The keyboardist plays mostly electric piano and the rhythm section with the added percussion is very cool and certainly a lot of the Jazz greats started to add multiple percussionists in the 70's like Miles Davis. This isn't the first time I've heard this band live as I have 2 bonus tracks on that 2007 release that are live tracks recorded in 2006. A lot more fuzz and heaviness on the 2006 concerts but that second bonus track shows the band going deep into the Avant. I noticed the band seemed to be getting away from the fuzz and Avant as they have progressed through the years. The Canterbury flavour isn't here either in 2012 compared to 5 years earlier.

I think my favourite song on here is "Almus" the second tune with that KING CRIMSON heaviness that is brief early on to the quiet sections. Man they can get chaotic on this track with walls of sound to the beautiful sounds of the electric piano playing over top with so much going on. I should mention "Hulge Hing" with that UNIVERS ZERO-like piano that is quite dark to open. While the first two tracks and the final two numbers standout for me, it's all really good making this easily a 4 star album in my world.