Believe are an improvising quartet made up of Peter Farrar (alto sax), Clayton Thomas (double bass), Novak Manojlovic (piano) and Laurence Pike (drums). All members are also listed as playing percussion, ala the AECO. These gentlemen from Australia are very much their own kettle of fish however.

Beginning with what sounds uncannily like rusty, squeaking playground equipment, they build into a tight swirling cyclone of notes. Quick fissures appear and are slotted into with minuscule gestures before a more open plain appears. Farrar here reminds me of Jimmy Lyons, not only in his tone, but also his curly, nagging repetitions and tail chasing. Manojlovic's piano brings in tattered ragtime jokes and pithy asides. A bit later someone yells "Yeah!" I concur. They stop on a dime as if it was all written down beforehand.

The title track jumps up with buzzy metallic rounds and sparse thumps, joined by flinty inside-the-piano string massage. It's right about here that you'll realize that these guys are all blessed with sensitive ears and nimble fingers. A merge into the camel-walk and out again brings the proceedings to a considered slow fade.

The longest of the three improvisations comes last, as if the shorter previous offerings were warm-ups or quick displays of the unit's wares. Here they pull out all the stops, and it sounds like these chaps must live in each other's pockets, so closely aligned is their sound. I remember distinctly gasping at several points along the way. There's a really beautiful quiet piano and sax trill at about 9 minutes that goes on for a relatively long time, as the "rhythm section" ever-so-slightly rocks out. It's thought stopping, and that's a compliment of the highest order. It also happens to be dead true, and Believe make it look easy.