Label: Self released, 2023

Personnel - Freysteinn Gislason: double bass; Helgi Rúnar Heiðarsson: saxophone; Hrafnkell Gauti Sigurðarson: electric guitar; Óskar Kjartansson: drums.

Icelandic bassist and composer Freysteinn Gislason out fronts a pungent quartet whose workouts can be anything but conventional. The six original compositions here are staunchly structured, and yet the music denotes a free-ish vibe and indispensable experimentalism without scattering too much from the group’s sonic identity. The title of the album, í allar áttir en samt bara eina, validates this idea as it translates into ‘in all directions but still the same’.

“Bylur” exhibits a perfectly cooked-up theme where a shimmering rhythmic net supports the fine melodic delineation started by saxophonist Helgi Rúnar Heiðarsson and later bolstered by guitarist Hrafnkell Gauti Sigurðarson. The latter joins forces with the bandleader for a 9/4 section that soon morphs into 7/4 with noise guitar explosions squalling over the prog-rock-ish texture delivered by bass and drums. Before reversing to the previous tempo and texture, there’s fiery exchanges between guitar and saxophone.

The title track is set in motion with introductory coherency by Freysteinn and drummer Óskar Kjartansson. The piece advances confidently, juggling with multiple tempos without ever coming to a boil. Still, its finale is utterly surprising. “Brotsjór” is among the best pieces. The group installs this frenzied dance with another additive meter signature that slows down into a ballad. Pensive arco work and reverb-drenched guitar infuse an extreme profundity before getting back to the preliminary intensity for a lavishing tenor solo.

“Þriðjudagur” is irrigated with folk melodies and burning improvisations, keeping the focus on no-noodling textures and pulsing rhythms that move according the ever-shifting tempos. Following the even-tempered “Samúningur”, the album comes to a close with “Á milli hluta”, an experimental swinging/rock episode in five where descending bass trajectories empower rhythmic interjections by sax, guitar and drums.

Freysteinn and his associates have a common taste for exploration, inferring this music with a seductively tortuous quality that stimulates the ear.