Flock II in Bloomington, MN

In 2022,
Flock
, a musical collective composed of top-shelf players from London's 21st century jazz scene, issued its eponymous debut album, featuring saxophonist/flutist
Tamar Osborn
, drummers and percussionists
Bex Burch
and
Sarathy Korwar
, and keyboardist/pianist/electronicist
Danalogue the Conqueror
. Recorded in a single day, its compelling compositions and explosive improvisation won over critics and punters.
Flock II
, by contrast, took a week while staying at the Druidstone, a mystical coastal retreat in West Wales. Here, they crafted unique "jump-off" devices for each piece, drawing inspiration from unconventional structures and environmental experiments. This creatively charged atmosphere incubated focused, sometimes abstract, sometimes lyrical musical conversations recorded at Studio Owz, a remote venue in a converted country church nearby.
These ten electro-acoustic soundscapes are primarily short -- most between two and four minutes (with three exceptions) -- and utilize compelling combinations of keyboards, reeds, woodwinds, drums, and organic and electronic percussion. Their dynamics range from lively engagement with kinetic textural and rhythmic energy, to less dramatic pieces resonating amid space, and sonic architectures more conducive to deep listening.
Just over two minutes in length, "Druidstone Incantation" is an example of the latter, with whispered vocals, hand percussion, drifting keyboards, and woodwinds in an eerie yet restful piece that seemingly draws inspiration from
Bennie Maupin
's 1974
ECM
debut,
Jewel in the Lotus
. "Turn Skyward" commences with flute, keys, and drumming on a kit and hand drums.
Osborn
solos under pulsing chord sequencers creating a vamp;
Korwar
Burch
carefully listen and react with a constant, attractively mysterious flow. "Meet Your Shadow" is a vehicle for
's baritone and tenor saxes soloing to a brooding, circular, yet syncopated vamp from drummers and
Danalogue
that ratchets up the intensity and drama. "Large Magellanic Cloud" is labyrinthian save for constantly shifting rhythmic textures for
to hover above and flow into with flute and soprano saxophone. The ominously titled "No One Is Spared Who Goes Down the Deep Well" is anything but with its multivalent layers of lush, almost processional keyboard work from
and the twinned engagement percussion of
. "A Thousand Miles Lost" carries a subdued, but ever-present melody atop a languid rhythmic and tonal palette that recalls
Brian Eno
's
Another Green World
, until a circular keyboard, vibraphone, and drum patterns frame
's tenor playing a counter pattern in conversational interplay with electric piano. While "Capillary Waves" is a loopy exercise in jazzy EDM driven by
's baritone, closer "Edge of Empty" (the set's longest cut at over six minutes), juxtaposes droning organ, reverbed flute, sparse, echo-laden piano, gentle electronics, and intermittent tablas to create a haunted, whispering, ambient soundscape. At 35 minutes in length, a first listen might engender an opinion that most pieces are too short. After a second,
's contents more accurately reflect a single, focused, multi-dimensional work where each track plays a specific role and never outstays its sonic welcome, resulting in abundant, balanced creativity. ~ Thom Jurek