The recording quality of Volume One and its slightly superior companion Volume Two, albums released by Torches Mauve on February 17, is astounding. Listeners with good equipment will have the uncanny sensation that they can reach out and touch guitarist Seth Davis and drummer Evan Verploegh. Whether or not that sonic immediacy is desirable is another matter. Anyone with an appreciation of noisy jazz-rock guitar innovators like Vernon Reid and Andy Summers will appreciate Davis’ virulent shredding. Free jazz enthusiasts will find Verploegh’s evocation of drummers such as Ronald Shannon Jackson and Tony Williams similarly invigorating. Everyone else is likely to be horrified by the sonic proximity to the Kansas City duo’s wild-eyed outbursts.
Albums Review: Torches Mauve- Volume One and Volume Two
