Fire! - Defeat

Release date 2021

With The Thing on extended hiatus, Fire! has emerged as Swedish hornsman Mats Gustafsson´s key power trio - and an equally fertile vehicle for experimentation. Since their debut in 2009. Fire! have collaborated with unlikely fellow travellers including Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi, and have formed the bedrock of the improbably swollen Fires Orchestra. On their seventh album - the first since 2018`s The Hands - the core trio is joined by two guest brass players -trumpeter Goran Kajfes and trombonist Mats Aleklint - for a neat, streamlined set of jams that feels like a surprisingly mellow return to basic principles.

Bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werliin lay down simple, deep grooves over which the horns do their thing, coming together to enunciate warm, laidback charts that almost have the feel of a good natured New Orleans band strolling down the street. Gustafsson is clearly having fun, whether blurting and honking on baritone sax or stirring up wasps nests of raw electronics. On a few tracks, he turns his omnivorous attention to flute - a relatively recent addition to his arsenal - bringing forth yelping breaths, yowling Roland Kirk vocalisations, and haunting shakuhachi-style calls. It's a very welcome return from a reliably heavy ensemble.

Jazzwise (UK)