Bridging accessibility and exploration is no mean feat, but Outward Bound manages it with a sound all its own. The Crete-based trio makes an ethereal contribution to Slam's already impressive catalog with their second release. Pianist Tsikandilakis Antonis, guitarist Neonakis Dimitris and drummer Iliakis Yiannis craft a powerful and beautiful journey into the timbral possibilities offered by a bassless trio.

Cohesion comes as a bit of a surprise, as the disc is formed from eighteen very brief excursions, grouped into three large sections of material. While the larger partitions seem somewhat arbitrary, there are certainly points of return; the final track mirrors the first's introspective mood. As with any well-formed music, there are also internal signposts, wheels within the larger wheel in this case. The two "Cue" pieces share the same key and mood with "Decisive Moment," which has a more extravert percussion part.

The music is largely introspective, shot through with space and dynamically quite varied, which is refreshing in itself given a lot of "free" music's penchant for fire. This is not the abstract world of AMM, though some timbral intrigue sets certain tracks apart form their more conventional counterparts. The music wanders very naturally in and out of pulse as the disc wends its solitary way forward.

The recording is first-rate. Every detail is captured with clarity and fidelity, especially the widely varied sounds that Yiannis gets from his percussion. There are also the crystalline duets between piano and delay-laden slide guitar. All emerge from, and return to, the silence that plays as important a role as does the music, making this group's sophomore disc a journey indeed.