THE WRONG OBJECT

No keyboards here but three horn players including Dean along with bass, guitar and drums. The guitarist has a very interesting style almost like scratching, it's hard to describe and I'm not a fan. He does play normally later on the title track which happens to be a top two track for me. The horns are great on this one plus the guitar. It turns fairly powerful after 2 minutes and Avant sounding. A calm after 6 1/2 minutes and that's when we get that guitar I like and he's ripping it up 10 minutes in.

"Seven For Lee" which was on a SOFT HEAD album is a Dean composed tune as is "Baker's Treat" and "The Basho Variations". The guitarist composed three tracks and the band one. Vocals on "A Cannery Catastrophe" the only tune that has them. Love the rhythm section after 3 minutes on "Cunnimingus Redux" with the sax over top. Actual fuzz bass to start "Millennium Jumble" along with experimental sounds. An Avant flavour for sure on this one. "Baker's Treat" is my least favourite as it's like an instrumental ballad. That opener though "Seven For Lee" I could spin on repeat for most of the day, it's so good.

The Wrong Object is a band that are excelling at their craft, and those with a general interest in instrumental jazz-rock better take note of this band and this album. That this album has sold out it's original CD print just a few months after it's release is probably also a strong indication about the quality of the material here. A strong, quality production, and while perhaps not with the broadest reach outside of the genre this is most certainly an album that will be highly regarded by fans of this specific variety of progressive rock.

It is as if Frank Zappa and Robert Fripp have pulled together a band so they can explore not only their own musical stylings but also combine it with the Canterbury Movement and then thrown in avant garde jazz and even some RIO just for the hell of it. Musically it is layered, but there is a great deal of space between these layers so one feels as if it would be possible to work through the room and see the musical strands as a visual element and never have to touch them when moving through the songs. It is hard to imagine the band without any of those currently involved, as if instead of listening to the music as a whole and just letting it take you to a new world you instead listen to just one of the musicians, I know you will be amazed at just how much work is going on from everyone. Whether they are in the limelight or providing the perfect support, here is a band really listening to each other and bouncing ideas.

After 15 years of an existence marked by extensive touring, recording and numerous collaborations with international jazz and rock luminaries (Elton Dean, Harry Beckett, Annie Whitehead, Alex Maguire, Stanley Jason Zappa, Ed Mann, Robin Verheyen), The Wrong Object continues to push boundaries and blend different musical styles in a way which is both invigorating and exciting.

The title track 'Into the Herd' starts things off with a grumbling bass line and some great percussion, and is later joined by the brass. The sound is definitely progressive jazz, tricky rhythms and really cool improvisation that is definitely reminiscent of Zappa's style of jazz. The saxes play nicely along and against each other with some contrasting harmony with everything offset with the heavy bass. 'A Mercy' is a more laid back affair with clarinet and baritone sax playing almost in tandem even with the rapidly played notes that sound like they should be improvised, but are not. Later, a nice mellow guitar solo comes in accented by the talented drummer. A keyboard solo follows, the overall feel of the track remaining somewhat mellow.

'Rumble Buzz' has an interesting electronic riff that introduces everything before the guitar comes in for a rip roaring solo right off the top. A squawky sax comes in later as the bass and drums keep up with the tricky rhythms. A sudden change of direction calms things down a bit as keys take over while the brass spouts off chords. The bass then takes us into a sax solo as the drums do their own smashing and crashing around it all. The rhythm speeds up and slows down as everyone keeps up before returning to the main complex theme. 'Another Thing' is introduced with an odd sax fanfare which gets joined by a heavy guitar. A wailing electronic sound and a mellotron effect join together when things quiet down a bit. Then a choppy brass section bring in a sudden chaotic guitar improvisation. Dynamics continue to get used quite wisely and effectively as the track moves from chaotic to soft and smooth, it is quite an intriguing contrast throughout. Later, things intensify when the twin saxes play off of and against each other and bring it all to a climactic end.

'Filmic' uses the mellower clarinet against the sax playing the same tricky riff together, definitely giving off shades of Zappa. The bass takes over playing a nice solo, then the guitar, sax, keys and everything just start creating a strange, almost experimental section and then the music suddenly goes into an upbeat and catchy section, interrupted occasionally by progressive outbursts which all builds up to a really great clarinet solo. This changes to a keyboard improvisation later with a bit of funk added in for good measure.

'Mango Juice' begins dark and mysterious with a bit of dissonance between the saxes, the guitar and keyboards. There is a bit of a build until electronic tones contrast against the heavy bottom end created by guitars. The electronic improvisation is definitely something that was not expected. The track continues to plod along with a dark feeling as brass comes back in later and then a heavy guitar solo. After 6 minutes, there is a shift to a more tropical feeling as keys and brass bring things up into the light as everyone plays contrasting melodic lines that eventually all come together. 'Many Lives' starts off with a quiet piano, soon joined by the saxes, then the drums usher in everything else until a melody and meter is found and all of the instruments find their parts. This same formula repeats a 2nd time and then a 3rd time with variations.

'Ship of Fools' starts right off with the whole band playing a great rock fusion sound, with a start / stop style, going from being in tandem to doing their own thing. This slips into a rocking sax solo. There is a change in rhythm to a looser feel and another sax solo follows. Later, the guitar takes over the melody as things tighten up to a heavier feel against the brightness of vibes. Everything gets wrapped up in the final track 'Psithurism' as the horns have the lead first playing a theme, then taking turns with short solos against an upbeat rhythm section. The theme returns, followed by a keyboard solo. Suddenly chaos ensues as the saxes go crazy before returning to the theme.

By the time this album is over, there is no doubt who their main influence is. There are many times in this album that you could swear that Zappa is there playing or conducting everything as the band seems to play off cues of when to play a rapid fire theme in tandem, or go off on different tangents and taking turns soloing. This is a very talented band that it is shocking that they are going unnoticed. This is also one of the best progressive jazz fusion bands and albums that I have heard for quite a while. This album is definitely an excellent discovery, and if you are into instrumental jazz / rock fusion, with the leaning closer to jazz than rock, with a lot of progressive jazz mixed in, then this is one you should be checking out.

"Detox Gruel" is an uptempo horn driven track and I love the dissonant horns a minute in as the song settles back. Check out the guitar 2 1/2 minutes in. Back to the original soundscape before 4 minutes. What a song! "Spanish Fly" opens with piano then this catchy horn melody with vibes comes and goes. Not a fan of that as I much prefer the interlude with horns. Some angular guitar after 3 minutes and growly sounds. Back to the horn melody from earlier. "Yantra" features a variety of horns and sounds. Alto sax after 2 minutes and I really enjoy the sound before 3 1/2 minutes with the bass and keyboards. Another change before 5 minutes as we get some crazy stuff happening. The guitar, bass and vibes are all so good.

"Frank Nuts" has such a great sound to it a minute in with the organ, horns and rhythm section. Heavy stuff. Next up is one of the highlights of this album, a three part suite beginning with "Jungle Cow Part I". Percussion sounds and a jungle-like atmosphere which becomes fairly chaotic with a lot of crazy sounds. Not music really as this is very experimental. Some interesting guitar late as it blends into "Jungle Cow Part II". After 1 1/2 minutes we get horns, piano, bass and more. The guitar starts to solo and this sounds amazing. "Jungle Cow Part III" is catchy and powerful to start until we get some relief before 1 1/2 minutes as it settles right down with picked guitar, soothing horns and more. Beautiful stuff. Dissonant horns change that(haha) after 4 minutes.

"Glass Cubes" is different from the rest as we get guest female vocals and piano leading the way. A melodic track that picks up after 6 minutes as we get dual vocals. Lots of horns and active drumming as the intensity increases. Great track! "Wrong But Not False" is a jazzy tune with the clarinet leading then the piano followed by the guitar, sax then back to the original soundscape. "Flashlight Into The Black Hole" is a horn driven tune which has a great driving sound to it after 1 1/2 minutes with sax playing over top. "Stammtisch" reminds me a lot of Zappa with the vibes and horns. Check out the guitar before 4 minutes followed by some horn-led insanity.

A solid 4 stars for this one.

With a deep FRANK ZAPPA background and links to the music of THE SOFT MACHINE due to Dean's presence, this live consists mainly of Zappa covers and jazz improvisations, nothing to do with Prog actually, and often passing in the territory of Free Jazz.Some 65 minutes of music in seven tracks overall offer a spicy and intense taste of the free spirit of Jazz Music with 70's THE SOFT MACHINE being a good comparison, not only because Dean is on stage, but also because the rhythm section and Delville's guitar seem to be around for the creation of supporting, psychedelic tunes.The album is thus dominated by the long, scratching and free solos of Delplanq, Estievenart and Dean on saxes and trumpet, resulting to over-stretched pieces of improvisation, which are pretty nice to be seen live, but not overly charming for a normal audio release.This is one of these live executions you have to be there to fully appreciate or maybe a DVD could be a better delivery as a whole.Of course the material is pretty strong and powerful, going from Psychedelic Jazz to Free Improvisation and back, adding some obscure electronics in the process and eventually completing a dynamic set of jazzy weirdness with endless solos and instrumental masturbations.

Not among my priorities and definitely not suitable to Prog fans.This is loose Jazz Rock with Avant-Garde leanings and numerous improvised parts, a good fit for those into this particular style and maybe fans of the jamming side of THE SOFT MACHINE and the featured FRANK ZAPPA productions...2.5 stars.

Opening on a few bars of a Klezmer-Manouche tune (like we've all hear a thousand times before), Sonic Riot veers a tad Gong-esque with an excellent closing passage with spacey electronics and trons. 15/05 is building on that feeling and the electronic gizmos are gaining in importance. As the album progresses with every new rack, one can only be captivated with the typical British jazz and JR/F scene of the 70's. Indeed, the shadows of Elton Dean, then Harry Beckett and Annie Whitehead (all participants to the band's previous efforts) seem to hover all over the album, much to our delight. There is a real tension that gradually builds up through tracks like Sheepwrecked (Crimson circa Lizard meets Wyatt) and following blistering Acquiring The Taste and Lifting Belly, where a Canterburian feel seep through via fuzzed-out instruments. The adventurous explorations continue, from the trashy Matching Mole-ish Malign Siesta to the lava-boiling Waves and the out-of-this-world Saturn. The album ends with a rework of Delville's Unbelievable Truth from the Elton Dean session album of the same name.

If you must own only one album from TWO, it would be a die-hard choice between the Dean collab and this one, but if you're into a more classical progressive, their latest album After The Exhibition, which is some kind of rebirth (given the important line-up changes, we can almost guess the band came close to a term) is also quite an awesome realisation. Personally, Shed is my personal fave from these guys.

Despite the heavy line-up changes, you'll have no problems recognizing instantly TWO, but I would not call ATE just another Wrong Object album. This is probably the band's most "prog-rock" album, despite retaining its heavy JR/F and Zappa atmospheres. The heavy Detox Gruel is a mix of riffs and gypsy jazz music. The three-parts and almost 17-mins Jungle Cow is the centrepiece of the album, but hardly the most accessible, as the first two movements are often bordering on dissonance, but it remains reasonable, and the third really delivers the good with some cool dramatics. The following Glass Cubes features female vocals, and though it brings a breath of fresh air, though the start has a "déjà-entendu", but the second part sounds like a cross of Gong meets Kate Bush.

A fine return to affairs from a group most of us thought dead (or at least dormant), although it doesn't reach the perfection of Stories From The Shed. While ATE might not be the most representative of their usual soundscapes (given the important line-up changes), it's still very much a worthy TWO album, and ranks in my top 5 album of 2013, among with Maalouf's Illusions and Setna's Guérison. Definitely worth investigating.

Right from the first notes of the opening intro of Honeypump Riff's ntro, you'll just know that you've hit paydirt and the roller-coaster ride will be a thousand times worth the gate's tariff. And once the excellent cover of Zappa's Big Swifty reaches your ears, you'll be almost disappointed that the band doesn't stick with their own compositions, or one of the famous guest's compositions. Whitehead's Platform One double dapper is certainly one of the album's centrepiece, and everyone fires from the own pistons, wind instruments or not - actually only Beckett and Dellicour have some (pistons), but the V-8 cylinder engine runs smoothly anyway. The other Zappa piece is a much better (and fitting in the overall concept) reprise than its predecessor, Delville filling Frank's hoes in a very different (and yet totally awesome) manner, with a fiery guitar solo. The Delville-composed Wet Weather has a slight 100 MPH Peter Gunn trashy quality, which contract with the gentler Beckett-written Scarlet Mine, which oozes standard/boppy jazz, which again contrast heavily with the gentle-ballad Tinseltown with a stupendous succession of wind instrument solo, initiated by Dellicour's sax underlined by Sun-Ra type of drumming. The closing 1'-mins Hello Mas overstays its welcome and is over-repetitious, though.

Of course, the main attraction to the album is Beckett and Whitehead's names, just Elton was for their previous project, but what's really the meat of the album is the TWO band, which will have a fairly stable line-up (for the jazz scene anyway) for a small decade. Lead by guitarist Michel Delville, the wind trio of Delplancq, Dellicourt and Estievenart is the other backbone of the band. Though the album contains less than 50% of the tracks written by TWO, there is no doubt that this album's artistic success gave them the self-confidence and assurance to pull out the pure masterpiece that would follow: Stories From The Shed. In the meantime, Platform One is definitely one of the band's peaks, though it must fell like the Annapurra next to the Everest.

The Wrong Object's latest studio effort "After the Exhibition" is a production that should appeal to a dedicated niche audience within the progressive rock universe: Those with a firm interest in demanding, challenging material in general, and those amongst them with an affection for jazz and jazz rock most of all. I suspect that the greater majority of the latter crowd will find this album to be a highly rewarding experience.