The Thing — Action Jazz

The Thing make really stonking , punked-up and energetic take on jazz fronted by the always amazing, prolific and quality bond Norwegian sax player Mats Gustafsson. Along with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on double Bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and percussion, All making a hell of a lot of beautiful noise along the way.

The album is mainly made up of covers, but these are no pedestrian cover versions, the band literally rip them apart making them very much their own down and dirty tracks. With throaty & manic sax wails & screams, hectic bass work-outs and abuse, good hard drum work-outs that sound messy and haphazard, but at the same time complete spot on, inspired  and showing a hell of a lot testosterone and raw talent. Really the same can be said for the whole album- It's  a chaotic, beautiful haphazard beating that complete side steps the kind of  knowing and arty sides of John Zorn’s more chaotic punk fired work and just weeps honest, blood sweat and tears.

A real smouldering 50 minute work-out that rarely lets up, and even in it’s slowed and slurred moments,chaos and disorder always trying to creep in. There’s great beauty and wonder with-in its push, pull and fight. Another great Gustafsson album and certainly one of the jazz albums of this year.