Michael Pisaro-Liu- Tombstones II
Circum-Disc, 2025
9/10
Listen to Michael Pisaro-Liu- Tombstones II
The musicians of the Muzzix Collective are aligned with Barbara Dang for these 11 sonically engaging and unclassifiable tracks.
“It Doesn’t Matter” opens with a bare presence, where soft vocals are met with sparse guitar and plenty of attention to space, and “Like I See” follows with sublime harmonizing that’s artistic and poetic.
“Rattle” occupies the middle spot and is strong on ambience and warm guitar, while “Time May” drones in a very rich and mesmerizing fashion thanks to the well timed keys.
Residing close to the end, “Kill That Black Cat Dead” rumbles and buzzes a bit before the high notes are sung with grace, and “The Darkness Is Falling” exits with a meticulous minimalism that’s shrouded in mystery, sophistication and cinematic waves.
A calculated effort that pays much respect to timbre, texture and silence, the precise and subtle use of double bass, trumpet, flute and objects complements the whispers, speaking and singing via an experimental and memorable approach to jazz.
Travels well with: Manoeuvres Sentimentales- Delightfully Deceitful; Joke Lanz & Petr Vrba- Mutants In Siberia