185578-interstatic-arise

InterStatic: Arise

With a sound that is neither mellow nor frantic, this mostly-Norwegian trio continues to hone their thing on Arise.
Interstatic
Arise
RareNoise
2014-08-12

Norwegian-based trio InterStatic keep the instrumental jazz-rock train rolling on their second release for the incomparable RareNoise label, named Arise. So what does their take on this ever-burgeoning subgenre sound like? It’s a little sly at times, really. InterStatic never settle for mellow or just plain bombastic but carve a place for themselves that features the best of both elements. Opener “Doozy Mugwump Blues” and its album-closing brother “Doozy (Reprise)” put the writing skills of organist Roy Powell in such a favorable light – tidy, approachable and with chord/melody tangents that offer a breath of fresh air in the middle of all the standard post-rock stuff. Guitarist Jacob Young lets some slop get in the way, though it’s probably intentional (you don’t get signed to ECM by lack of refinement). As for Jarle Vespestad? Well, almost every jazz-rock performance is about as good as the drummer that drives it. And Arise rattles with the force of the Mothers of Invention.

RATING 7 / 10