Short Reviews [Angling - 2024 - "Was it 1984 or 1985?"]

The reason behind the quite unusual album title is very simple, none of those involved can actually remember when this short-lived outfit existed. They played just two gigs, and had one recording session, which was unearthed in 2023 and has resulted in this release. While the band may have been long-forgotten, even by those involved to some extent, the players are certainly well known in the scene as it comprised Zeena Parkins (accordion and acoustic harp), George Cartwright (soprano saxophone), Chris Cochrane (electric guitar and tapes) and bassist Fred Chalenor. Zeena was in between News from Babel recording projects and was about to join Skeleton Crew, George was in between the first and second Curlew recordings, Fred had just come east with his band with Myles Boisen, Face Ditch, while Chris was improvising with a range of 'downtown musicians' and curating shows as the Director of NYC'S Improvisor's Network. This was long before No Safety (with Chris and Zeena) were even thought of but given those involved it is no surprise at just how good this is. Six songs, just 33 minutes long, here we have a band who are bringing together folk influences with jazz combined with progressive eclectic to deliver something truly interesting and enjoyable. The bass sound is incredibly heavy, with a strike which makes me think it is a fretless being played with a pick, while the guitar can often be found more in the background, creating filler sounds while the lead instruments are often the sax with the accordion playing a more melodic counterpart while George goes off at a tangent. I was speaking with a friend this morning about music, and while both complaining about the current scene, we started wondering about bands who never got the break or stroke of luck they deserved, and now here I am listening to one of those. Cuneiform have been around for more than 40 years, always championing the RIO scene, and here is another delight. One can only hope that many will discover this release either through their love of the label (which always delivers, never fails) or by knowing the likes of Cartwright and wondering what an album featuring his playing from more than 40 years ago is like. What I can say is this is exciting and vibrant from a group of musicians who were not following any rules but instead were creating their own.