Detailed Reviews [Tumble Home - 2008 - "Annee 2008"]

Prolusion. TUMBLE HOME is a trio based in France. They released their debut album back in 2003, and although they are an active outfit they haven't issued any official productions after this. "Annee 2008" is an EP consisting of studio recordings made in 2007 and 2008.

Analysis. It's a nice little creation, this EP. The 5 compositions are varied in style, showcasing the diversity of this act I presume, and the musicianship is of high quality. Bruxelles opens this production: a smooth, mellow jazz exploration dominated by a fluent, wandering piano theme underscored by staccato piano tones, with a bass solo and drum solo thrown in towards the end. The following two tracks take on a more traditional fusion sound. Amalgame features an atmospheric synth layer in the back of the mix, adding fluency and minor dramatics to a composition at first dominated by a wandering piano theme underscored by mellow, rhythmic guitar licks, with some nice atmospheric soloing underscored by repetitive piano before ending with two segments where the bass first and guitar next play out a theme rising and falling in a neat loop. The not so creatively named No Title follows: a more simplistic escapade where staccato piano underscores a flowing dominant guitar theme, with a switch of roles on select occasions between these two instruments. For the last two creations, Tumble Home gets a bit more experimental. Passport features drawn-out distorted guitar riffs underscoring a meandering piano as the key elements, with one segment featuring atmospheric guitar soloing and a piano-dominated break adding some variation to the excursion in a setting with mostly jazz-tinged rhythms. The Tormented Child moves even further away from jazz-territory, with chunky guitar riffs and fragmented, layered guitar licks that remind me of Van Halen (as they sounded early in their career) as key features in the song, organs adding a nice ‘70s ting in the back of the mix on select occasions, while the jazz inspirations takes more of a back seat on this one.

Conclusion. Although diversified in its style excursions, this is first and foremost a production that should appeal to followers of jazz rock as well as smooth fusion. The explorations are creative, but at the same time with a mainstream appeal: this isn't a creation where you will find many challenging passages. Enthusiasts may find the lack of dissonant and disharmonic textures a minor flaw. Those who like their fusion melodic and straightforward should be interested in checking out this act, and those who enjoy ‘80s sounding guitar antics Van Halen-style should really enjoy the last track on this production.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: April 11, 2009
The Rating Room