Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2022
Personnel - Nate Wooley: trumpet, amplifier; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Susan Alcorn: pedal steel guitar; Mat Maneri: viola (#2); Trevor Dunn: electric bass (#4); Ryan Sawyer: drums.
Impregnated with chilly dystopian-like vibes, the sophomore release of trumpeter Nate Wooley’s Columbia Icefield is a suite whose three main parts and four interludes derive from heroic inspirations. A film by Frank Heath accompanies Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes, which creates a cinematic universe of its own through otherworldly sonic sensations and field recordings. The ensemble remains with no alterations, transversing modern jazz forms and experimental foundations specified in Wooley's composition.
“I Am the Sea that Sings of Dust” stealthily steps in, attempting to mediate the struggle between the natural world and the human expression. Sparse guitar chords, background electronic noise, and effusive drumming by Ryan Sawyer draw a distinction to an early phase that plunges further into a downcast chamber atmosphere accentuated by plaintive trumpet lines and the pastoral glissandi winks that pour from Mat Maneri’s viola. This disenchanted impression is transferred to the interlude that follows: a suspended mode with moderately warped guitar sounds and trumpet tranquility.
Clocking in at nearly 15 minutes, “A Catastrophic Legend” was penned for the late cornetist Ron Miles. The constant vigilant state of the piece hypnotizes more than shakes in the initial phase, when Wooley and Halvorson engage in unpredictable parallel moves over a quiet substratum reinforced by guest bassist Trevor Dunn. The texture then varies in intensity, falling in with rock-infused distortion and asymmetric progression. After a trumpet solo, there’s a convoluted passage with electronics and rollicking drums.
“Returning to Drawn Myself, Finally” is based on a Swedish dalakoral (religious song). The trumpet lamentation leads to a modernist abstraction delineated by Halvorson, an electric guitar innovator whose loose-fitting phraseology can be heard concurrently with Alcorn’s pedal steel electrification. Serenading activity replete with ostinatos takes us to a closure.
Emphasizing more the collective than the individual, Wooley explores creative approaches to music making by combining strange and foreboding elements. This is a curiously atmospheric if not essential album.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - I Am the Sea that Sings of Dust ► 04 - A Catastrophic Legend ► 06 - Returning to Drawn Myself, Finally