Continuing on with releases that have been languishing at Chain D.L.K. HQ for some time, this one is in the avant garde free jazz vein. Keith Kelly is a woodwind specialist (soprano & tenor saxes, bass clarinet, flute) currently in Phoenix, AZ, who performs regularly with Running From Bears, The Scorpion Decides and Static Announcements, and also with Ask Not. The rest of Ask Not consists of Jon Armstrong (tenor & soprano saxes, electric bass); Brett Reed (vibes and marimba); Ari Chersky (guitar); Shaun Lowecki (drums & cymbals); and Doug Stuart (upright bass). Not everyone plays at once, which makes it an interesting mix of 12 tracks over about 46 minutes. All compositions were improvised in a single weekend, with not much more than a title and a vibe described before each piece.

Opening track "Cradle Candles" sounds like you just walked into a jazz club mid-performance. There's a lot going on but it's a controlled sort of chaos with dueling saxes and guitar and a most interesting rhythm section. "Bullshit Casualty" begins with incredible dueling basses, then wailing sax riffs, stabbing guitar chords and wild percussion, but it's hard to get a grip on a theme here. Just when you were thinking "maybe this really isn't avant garde" along comes "Fat Chance Slim" with creaky string scraping, drone, squeaks and more sonic oddities. I don't know where all the squiggly electronics at the end came from; they didn't have a synthesizer player listed. After that some calm was required so "A Return, A Sigh" comes across as sort of a woodwind lullaby. It almost could have turned into a melodic song, and I suppose in its own way is kind of melodic, but it won't furrow any free jazz lovers' brows. The piece seems kind of continued in "We Don't Want to be Saved" with the addition of vibes. (Both these tracks are free of rhythm.) Back into the real avant garde with "Bifurcated," a piece that has some kind of electronic feedback in the background and low key playing at first, until the intensity is ramped up toward the end.

Air raid siren drone and drum riffing begins 'What Choice Would You Unmake" with marimba filling in gaps and saxes flying like a flock of seagulls (not the new wave band) but near the end it sort of simmers down. "Not What You've Been Asking For" is actually just what I've been asking for with an electric guitar bender, off the wall percussion and woodwinds that sound like Tibetan horns. This is absolutely great shit! This composition is just so rich and full that it's impossible not to love it...for a free jazz aficionado. "Desolation" is the longest piece on the album (7:24), living up to its title being a bit quieter and calmer than other tracks on the album. Just what was needed. "Like a Bend in the Road" is also a low key piece but still different form the preceding. You might be tempted to fill in the blank of "Which Piece Needs to Be" but while a good chunk of the sound is feedback drone here other elements combine to form a dream-like texture. Muted, rhythmic dampened string tapping forms the basis in "Please Take Our Picture" with softly sustained woodwind notes and other ephemeral sounds that whisk away into the night. Nice way to end a cool album.