Dark Days
New Focus, 2021
9/10
The composer Scott Wollschleger and pianist Karl Larson join forces here on a solo piano listen where much intimacy and introspection is present across tunes penned between 2007-2020.
The title track opens the record with low keys as a slight rumbling flows alongside brighter moments of finger acrobatics, and “Tiny Oblivion” follows with tension and grace as plenty of mystery surrounds the fascinating delivery.
Halfway through, “Lyric Fragment” brings a reflective quality where plenty of emotion is present amid the cautiousness, while “Brontal No. 2 ‘Holiday’” offers 7 minutes of sublime, unpredictable and even haunting song craft. “Brontal No. 6”, one of the album’s best, then displays profound attention to detail as the strategic execution balances space and mood well.
The album exits on “Secret Machine No. 4” and “Secret Machine No. 6”, where the former is a swift and pretty 2 minutes of memorable songwriting, and the latter quivers with an eloquent vulnerability that finishes the listen with much poise.
Recorded prior to Covid and titled after the inauguration of 2017, while there are certainly dark moments to be found here, more often than not, you’re likely to take in serenity and sensitivity on this collaboration of enormous talent.
Travels well with: Akropolis Reed Quintet- Ghost Light; Curtis K. Hughes- Tulpa