Tongues

Chronique

Tongues is not The Exchange Session, Vol. 3, nor is it a series of outtakes or discarded tracks from those sessions packaged simply to lure in those looking for more -- anything more -- from the deft electronics-and-percussion collaboration. (Although its release, in one sense, is the result of Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid's success; it was recorded six months after their first two dates, a few weeks before the first even came out.) Subsequent to a round of touring, where they played before all manner of jazz boffins and electronic heads, the two reconvened and recorded something that reflected the demands of a live audience. Instead of three long tracks, Tongues consists of ten short tracks. Thus, it gains a sense of immediacy, although listeners shouldn't confuse immediacy with simplicity; Hebden and Reid's music is as full of depth and ideas as before, whether driving and droning ("Rhythm Dance") or haunted (a cover of, yes, "Greensleeves").
© John Bush /TiVo