Really, it’s not as bad as it looks. Well, OK, the bandname’s awful, the CD’s title is awful, the cover art’s awful. And if your hopes were raised by the presence of veteran pianist Art Lande, be forewarned that he’s mostly playing drums (adequately), or contributing daft monologues: “Redistribute your sandwiches! Please redistribute your sandwiches! Put all combs by the fountain! Place your combs by the fountain! We will not harm you. We have come to be friends.” Still, most of the music is charming enough, and the tracks are so short that even the irritating bits don’t last too long. Pianist Emily Takahashi and saxophonist/clarinettist Jayn Pettingill acquit themselves well, and I’d like to hear more of them; bassist Doug Anderson is stiff and repetitious, but adds some nice dabs of colour with his accordion. The liner notes offer the album as “a glimpse of what grown-up males and females, unsupervised, can do together for fun in the aural realm.” The results are – well, “fun” is too strong a word. “Harmlessly dippy,” maybe.

Nate Dorward

Cadence, August 2005