The second record from the Washington D.C. duo of Ed Ricart and Sam Lohman extends their ideas a bit and offers better production, particularly in the sound of Lohman's drum kit. For those unfamiliar with Matta Gawa, a few sign-posts might be the cloudy swirl of San Agustin, only louder, or the late Sonny Sharrock's "Ask The Ages" with a heavier dose of distortion and a freer overall vibe � less Elvin Jones, more Sunny Murray. Trying to follow the various snaking lines of repeating guitar figures can be quite dizzying, so the best approach is perhaps to just let the whole mass wash over you.

Not quite a total free jazz freak out, there are a few seriously lovely melodies too. For a collection of improvised pieces, there's also quite a bit of imaginative logic, and more than a little bit of swing. Check out the lengthy title track for example, where Ricart knows just when to reign in the heat and settle back into building a melodious line as the drums slowly ramp up the clatter and rumble. Several times the duo let things fall away and then reconstruct them, each time commenting on the previous attempt at cresting the hill and going back to start a little bit further back. The distorted melody that comes out during the last couple of minutes is particularly beautiful. "Position" is a different strategy altogether, a quick splatter of thumb and fumble overridden with walls of string mangle. "Musth" begins with free flowing lines and power chords looping over cymbal washes and quick snare rolls, and continues as collections of short-ish melodies layered on top of one another until a quick fade-out. "Sky" has a similar feel, but ends more quickly, and "Heron" manages to evoke Frippertronics and a queasy tiny-boat-on-the-ocean feel in its brief stay. More please.