Any listener seeking distraction from the current precarious moment in history should give Ingrid Laubrock’s new album a very wide berth. The German-born experimental saxophonist is not offering any reassurances with The Last Quiet Place. It’s a tense record. It’s disconcerting and dramatic. But it is also visceral, truthful and immersive.
An unusual sextet of improvisers teams up for this latest Laubrock release. A cello and violin sit alongside saxophones, guitar, bass and drums. This opens up opportunities to explore off-piste musical terrain, and the album does exactly that through its blend of compositions and free playing.
The strings take the lead on Anticipation, with each instrument striking out separately and occasionally in conflict. The saxophone arrives a little late and seems to pick a fight with the bass. The instruments chase each other before trading long, plummeting tones that hurtle downhill towards a cliff edge.
Grammy Season is faster but more frightening. Bass and drums create a stable backdrop for Laubrock’s violent shadow theatre. There are cinematic moments here, propelling the listener from one sonic scene to the next. The plot twists, the characters change. In the final moments, the string instruments launch a sad subplot. Our hero’s piranha-bitten hat floats up from the depths of the villain’s pool.
The Last Quiet Place sometimes offers sweet shapes and pretty melodies – but the listener can’t trust them. It’s a trap. Laubrock’s compositions have eyes narrowed and muscles taut at all times, ready to tip everything upside down and unleash chaotic fury. It’s a challenging album. It’s a fascinating album. And it’s a skilful depiction of this precarious moment in history.
Discography
Anticipation; Grammy Season; The Last Quiet Place; Delusions; Afterglow; Chant II (49.05)
Laubrock (ss, ts); Mazz Swift (vn); Tomeka Reid (clo); Brandon Seabrook (g); Michael Formanek (b); Tom Rainey (d). New Haven, Connecticut 2023.
Pyroclastic Records PR24
