UN*MUTUAL

Taking a break from his long-time role as multi-instrumentalist and band leader of Glass Hammer, Fred Schendel opened the escape hatch and released himself from the confines of the world of symphonic prog and adopted the pseudonym TRURL for his first solo project in 2011. His debut release "Do Not See Me Rabbit" was a breathtaking original play on the world of jazz fusion with nods to many of the classic past masters as well as a playing ground for all his own crazy idiosyncrasies that didn't quite jive with the Glass Hammer parent band. The album featured a six part all-instrumental attack that offered some of the most dynamic and interesting moments in the entire world of jazz fusion. But then it was back to work with the main band and it seemed that the TRURL project was simply a one-off.

Well 2024 has proven to pull many rabbits out of the magician's hat with bands that nobody ever expected to hear from again suddenly emerging from nowhere and unleashing a brand-spankin' new album for all to savor. So too has TRURL reemerged from the hinterlands of the music world with his second release some 13 years after the first. Titled "un*mutual" and featuring eight tracks that nearly match the playing time of the previous release at 43 1/2 minutes, this second offering eschews a mere copy and paste approach and takes on a completely new stylistic approach. While the "Rabbit" album was a cleverly crafted romp of instrumental jazz fusion peppered with classic prog sounds with a few nods to Return To Forever and Chic Corea as well as other more eclectic outfits like Gentle Giant and neoclassical fantasy artists, "un*mutual" takes on a vocal-driven style of keyboard oriented jazz fusion with the sensual touches of Canterbury jazz and soft vocal jazz.

Noticeably less unadventurous, TRURL has tamed his wild rabbit approach of the debut and instead delivers a roster of more "normal" streamlined tracks that focus on a basic jazz rock approach with the accouterments of prog flavored ingredients which results in a more predictable and less dynamic album than its predecessor. Noticeably more focused on atmosphere rather than stellar technical workouts that burst onto the scene and implode the senses like a jack-in-the-box, "un*mutual" takes on a soft and mellow approach that in comparison doesn't even sound like the same artist. BTW TRURL performs all instruments on his albums and in that regard is a musical genius but the music on "un*mutual" is lazy and never really rocks my world and doesn't allow him to display the excellent musical creativity that was delivered on "Do Not See Me Rabbit."

Unfortunately if you compare the two album covers, they pretty much advertise what you can expect from each album. "Rabbit" features a colorful and dynamic album cover that is inventive, mysterious and symbolic whereas this new one displays a bland corner where two walls and the ceiling meet with a dingy beige pastiche and completely devoid of any interesting characteristics. Now i wouldn't say that perfectly matches the content of this new release but overall this music is too tame for my liking especially after the brilliance of the debut. First of all i do not like Schendel's vocals at all. For all the talent he has an instrumentalist, his vocal abilities are limiting and weak sounding. Likewise the compositions are rather bland and generic. The album is a nice mellow relaxing one and of course this is all subjective because those who thought the debut was too wild and unfocused may love this one to death. Personally i find this substandard even when all the keeping focused and "maturity" factors are considered. It's a good album but not anywhere in the ballpark of interesting as was his debut. For adventurous listeners skip this one and go straight to the debut. That album is a gem.