Adam Butler (Vert) has created a thematic circus jazz album that is as
quirky as it is clever. When Vert toured the US a few years back I
thought about how he might develop his sound – and he certainly has an
aesthetic that is ripe in the era of Momus, Matmos and label-mates Mouse
on Mars, the 3Ms. “Everything From Shells” is like miniature techno
that just bounces flagrantly and suddenly stalls with a crash only to
meander itself back to a sense of consciousness. Small Pieces Loosely
Joined takes on a flavorful sense of the discreetly free-wheeling –
always tonally colorful. It’s in the playful, paced nature of tracks
like “Octatone Rag” that harkens back to themes effortlessly tossed off
for Charles Schultz’s Peanuts gang. But just when you think this is a
standard drone in contemporary style, he changes the pitch, adds a bit
of poppy beat and happy-go-lucky electronica into the mix. Primarily
offbeat with hooks aplenty and far from slapstick, these diddies are
central to the pavement Vert lays. “Til Morning” is a nearly 35-minute
floating drone customized to sound like a cross between a Philip Glass
score and an endless one-note from Laurie Anderson’s “Big Science.”
