Search - Scorch :: Brolt

Charred guitar and other singe-alongs

TSK | NY | 06/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A power trio is certainly an unusual lineup for Euro free jazz. There's no braying, bleating saxophone in sight, no punishing piano, so the free-averse would be advised to take another look. There's something remarkably accessible about this Nordic mixture that I suspect will appeal to many listeners who don't have any ear at all for the avant-garde. In addition, Scorch is not generally in that anarchically improvisatory place that sounds to many people like pure chaos. Much of Bjorkenheim's playing seems rooted in a recognizable rock tradition; he's hardly bailing on tonality like David Bailey. Indeed, Scorch may well appeal to Nels Cline, Vernon Reid, David Torn, Robert Fripp and James Blood Ulmer fans, for instance, not to mention Mahavishnu-era McLaughlinites or any adventurous soul who's into Hendrix or the wilder side of Neil Young.



The sweet-toned Bjorkenheim uses effects (and sometimes a bow) without ever getting the least bit grating; bassist Haaker Flaten, who sounds at times a bit like a growling lion, flattens my haaker throughout, particularly on the frenetic Graps; and the drumming is appropriately all over the place, yet very fluid and never overbearing. I don't know what Brolt means, but when these guys get going, it feels like my head has been brolted to the wall. Nice. But at 51 minutes, the record is too damn short. The Rune Grammofon site offers a two-disc vinyl limited edition of Brolt with another 33 minutes of music. I don't want to end this review on sour Graps, but come on, guys, most of that would fit on one CD.

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