Kalia Vandever’s discography is relatively brief but rich in variety and abundant examples of her distinctive approach to the trombone. Her lyrical, improvisational voice is all over the small-ensemble releases In Bloom (2019) and Regrowth (2022). In 2023, she released a true solo record, We Fell in Turn, which took on a more experimental, ethereal approach, using only her trombone, voice, and effects. This time she’s back with a full band. Another View is a stunning example of Vandever’s ability to thrive within a quartet configuration.
Inspired in part by Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir In the Dream House, the album is partly “a narrative about idealization curdling into dread (and) the way the drafts and shadows of a ‘dream house’ reveal themselves once you move inside”. The result is a four-piece quartet that never stops exploring spaces. “I was drawing from cyclical patterns while writing the music on Another View, and imagining the gradual dissolution of these patterns. The album brings you into a fractured dream state and releases you into a renewed sense of reality,” says Vandever.
Joining Vandever on the record are Kayvon Gordon on drums, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Kanoa Mendenhall on bass. They all slide into the music with great ease, and even the moments of tension seem inevitable but comforting. The epic opening track “Staring at the Cracked Window” begins with a prelude of Halvorson’s typically elastic guitar lines. The band join in, and Vandever offers a gorgeous, lengthy solo. In “Withholding”, Vandever sets the scene with two notes repeated over and over, creating a spine for the track as the group simmer around her, and another solo winds its way through the song, with Gordon in particular adding brilliant rhythms that are subtle yet mesmerizing.
Vandever’s generosity in allowing all the musicians to shine is apparent throughout Another View. “Cycle in the Morning” begins with extended bowed bass from Mendenhall, eventually joined by Vandever, who together create an eloquent duet before Halvorson and Gordon enter with dreamy, ethereal grace. The song builds, and the tension reaches a deeply satisfying conclusion. The musicians here are obviously at the top of their game, both in the execution of the music, but specifically in how they rise and fall as the mood dictates. The album is not only beautifully played but also expertly arranged.
A simple, almost meditative repeated sequence between Vandever and Halvorson introduces “Unearth What You Already Knew” and leads into a simple, easy groove that serves as a perfect launchpad for exquisite soloing. “In My Dream House” closes the album with a ballad tempo that allows for more luxurious solos as the band stretches out over eight-plus minutes of bliss, including a guitar solo from Halvorson that shows her typically adventurous nature.
Despite several moments of quiet intensity, Kalia Vandever’s Another View flows like a dream, with composition and improvisation beautifully intertwined. The interplay is irresistible and somehow offers hope within the chaos.