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Curios - The Other Place **** |
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Saturday, 27 February 2010 17:59 |
Edition Records EDN 1018 | Tom Cawley (p; elec), Sam Burgess (b) and Josh Blackmore (d). Rec. 2009
Cawley himself believes The Other Place is the best representation of Curios to date, and for good reason. It selfevidently is. It brims with confidence, accomplishment and no little flair. This intricate, often agitated music has a beguiling “Hmmm. That’s interesting, where are they going with this?” quality. There are no predictable destinations in Curios’ musical journeys, which can often rattle off down unexpected highways and byways. The resolutely quirky disposition of this music has a very British quality which reviewers of the group’s two previous albums have noted. It is music informed by a certain wry humour as much as classical, classical-through-Brad Mehldau and the improviser’s urge to explore these compositions from within, often blurring the distinction between the written and the improvised. Nobody could accuse pieces such as ‘Plea’, ‘Pure’ or ‘Impure’ to be outgoing, and perhaps here lies their charm. Each unfurls with its own logic and while ‘Pursuit’ or ‘The Swan’ may seem a little more outgoing, this is music that releases its secrets reluctantly, demanding you return to it again to be sure you haven’t missed the point. Stuart Nicholson
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