XLR8R

Can jazz become too cool? Conjoint flirts with pussyfooting innocuousness, but ultimately stays on the right side of understatedly chill. On 2000's Earprints, Conjoint dropped muted, electro-organic jazz that smudged noir soundtrack tropes into a vibrantly somber tone splash. A Few Empty Chairs-featuring Karl Berger, Jamie Hodge, David Moufang, and Gunther Ruit Kraus-doesn't deviate much from that template. Berger's vertebrae-tingling vibes and Kraus' crystalline, pointillist guitar daub the foreground with gorgeous turquoise and magenta tones while Hodge and Moufang provide a foundation of subliminal funk. Imagine In A Silent Way performed by Nordic introverts. Cool, indeed.