Chris McCarthy specializes on the Korg SV-1 keyboard as he leads a quintet of Max Light/g, Simon Willson/b, Jongkuk Kim/dr and vocalist Carrie Furniss through a baker’s half dozen pieces which comprise a “live” suite. The mix of Furniss’s misty voice and McCarthy’s hazy keys makes for some long shadowed moods, with a mix of free floating voice, guitar and keys hovering on the “Intro” as they segue into a slightly pulsating and melancholy “Desaparecere.” Delicate and palpably soft themes continue through “The Empty” before the re-worked Monk tune “Ugly Beauty” turns into a bohemian style street poem on “Rant.” An ethereal “Cold Sand” veers into a free form sermonette by Furniss on “Count on Me” making the album feel like a smoky night at a an open mic coffee shop-loose relaxed and accepting.
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