(Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Improvisation) [WEB] N.E.W. (Alex Ward, John Edwards, Steve Noble) - Motion - 2014, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Together for over a decade, and having released two previous albums on the Bo' Weavil label, N.E.W.—the trio of drummer Steve Noble, bassist John Edwards and Alex Ward on electric guitar—need no introduction. They have nothing left to prove. Live and on disc they have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with—tight, energetic and bursting with ideas. Now, the good news is that their third album, Motion, again displays all those strengths in abundance.
As the album is a Dancing Wayang release, not only does it sound exquisite—recorded at London's Eastcote Studios, by Anna Tjan, in April 2013—it is also a limited edition vinyl record, housed in a stunning hand-printed wraparound sleeve, its cover images of cave paintings having been selected by Noble himself. Yes, this is a good old-fashioned LP, twenty minutes per side, from a trio in which all three are switched on throughout... reminiscent of the days when such groupings were glowingly referred to as "supergroups," a description that would fit N.E.W. perfectly .
N.E.W.'s music moves along a broad spectrum that encompasses free improv, rock music and many places in between. The album is well titled, for the music is constantly in motion, never staying in one place long enough to be predictable or easily pigeon-holed, never encouraging the listener to relax and luxuriate in the familiar. The constants throughout are the individual and collective skills of the players. They move, think and respond as one, with no-one hogging the limelight and no ego trips; the trio is given more importance than the contributions of any of its members. Although the contributions of each are discernible, they could rarely be termed solos as they are constituent parts of an ongoing three-way conversation.
The album opens with the upbeat "Betting on Now" which is driven along by Noble's rhythms, particularly his cymbal work. Edwards' bass is less prominent but provides an ever-present foundation for the piece. Completing the picture, Ward's fluent electric guitar creates a dense barrage of sound that incorporates chords, sustained and bent notes, mixed in with attention-grabbing spontaneous melodies. With the shift into "How it is," the three change gear and mood, creating a less rhythmic, more impressionistic piece that slowly blossoms as diffuse guitar tones and subtle cymbal washes are used to build atmosphere before the transition into "Tall and True," another rhythmic piece that covers similar ground to the opener.
Flipping the disc (how good it feels to use those words) we find the album's longest track "4th and Three" as well as its title track. After an abstract opening, the former leads into a stunning passage which builds and builds, dominated by interchanges between percussion and guitar; a strong contender for the album's best track. In contrast, "Motion" again goes for atmosphere over drama, with an understated approach featuring soaring rock-inflected guitar. It brings this richly varied album to a fittingly rousing conclusion. As so often with Dancing Wayang releases, highly recommended. (John Eyles)

N.E.W. equals Steve Noble, John Edwards and Alex Ward. I thought this was their debut release, but if you look at the comments section (below) you'll notice this their 4th release. Anyhow, "Motion" is one killing album. Firstly, just to clear up and any misunderstandings, Alex Ward, normally known as a clarinettist, is playing guitar on this record. Steve Noble - drums, has played with Rip Rig and Panic, Derek Bailey, Matthew Shipp, Peter Brötzmann and about everybody (whose anybody) on the UK free-jazz scene. John Edwards, whom you'll find liberally throughout this blog, is one of the UK's top bass players on the improv' scene. Add those elements together and that means that this is a free-jazz-rock-thrash-metal-noise-swing-impro trio, what more can you want?
Right from the very start the trio launches straight into hard hitting improvised rock. There's no gentle introduction to this trio, they fire off all guns immediately and then don't stop until the end of the album 5 tracks later. For anyone familiar with those great improvised sections in King Crimson's music, then this could be (sort of) the next step in the musical process. The guitar playing of Alex Ward reminds me of the style that Fripp used back in those early Crimson days, although here Alex gets a chance to push boundaries in other directions.
The music focuses around Ward's guitar which points the trio in the different directions. He winds his way through hard rock and even jazzy ideas on "Betting on Now" (tk1). Here Noble and Edwards support him with swinging drums and walking bass lines. In "Tall & True"(tk3) Steve Noble and John Edwards jump in with some manic rhythms, leaving Alex to gradually creep in with chunky riffing power chords to 'rock' the group.
"4th and Three" (tk4), the longest piece on the album (10 minutes) builds from a tremolo idea. The band spends plenty of time exploring space and rhythm, but as the music progresses the guitar gradually steels in with some slide (?) playing, squealing into high registers, whilst the bass and drums rock away - reminding me of some of Rip, Rig and Panic's musical outings. On "Motion" (tk5), the group bring many of the ideas heard on previous pieces together - silent sections, powerful guitar sounds, hard hitting drums and bass. What makes it all so listen-able is the way they develop the ideas 'tonally', and although there's plenty of sonic probing they always use rhythm or melody as a focal point - if you call distorted bashed chords melodic?
Lastly I should mention the label Dancing Wayang. They produce a very small amount of releases and this is a 300 limited edition LP, as are all their records. Anna (Tjan), the founder of the label tells me that the first 100 copies include a bonus 3" CDR of the band live, so if you're interested, don't hang about!
Highly recommended - could be a good one for all those who like air-guitar also! (Joe)