Here we have a cracked trio that is firmly "in the tradition." Of course the tradition at hand is that particularly crazed, conversational notion of spontaneous collective interplay honed in the London improv scene; a tradition that Tomlinson, Beresford, and Turner have been poking and prodding at for three decades now. This is freewheeling improvisation that tosses subversive humor, situationist theatricality, and rough-shod abstraction into a blender and punches the puree button with glee. Tomlinson's trombone smears and blats are thrown up against Beresford's jangled sprays of cheap electronics and Turner's driving percussive clatter. This is electro-acoustic improv of a whole different sort. Nothing restrained or "reductivist" here. That is not to say that this is music without subtlety or intricacy. They can drop to tiny gestures and quiet detail. But those sections are then used as launching pads to caterwaul off into antic bluster and hyperactive ruckus. In lesser hands, this kind of thing can fall apart quickly. But these three have lightening-quick reflexes, keen ears, and commanding presence.

Tomlinson is a particular star, whether whispering the quietest of breaths or braying with feisty abandon. Though a long-time, active player, he hasn't recorded much. Between this and his imposing solo on the recent Emanem compilation The All Angels Concerts he is making up for lost time. Turner is a master at these sorts of settings, darting around his extended kit with pinpoint attack as he moves from agitated sheets of rattling percussion, bells and cymbals to thundering drums. Beresford's electronics fill in the cracks, gluing things together with whirring buzzes, reverb-heavy oscillating tones, madcap swoops, and snapping clicks and static. As the improvisations surge along, focus is constantly shifted around the group, whether through muted interchange or bounding counterpoint. Extended explorations are interspersed with compact interludes, developing a dynamic flow to the set. Through it all, it is their boundless energy and prickly invention that keeps this tradition fresh.