Around since 2023 when this was recorded in Denmark, Action 4s lean in on Mathias Heise (born 1993) as the main obvious soloing element.
Heise’s far more pedestrian quintet album Mouth Games issued by the Storyville label came out last year.
The main link to that album is the inclusion of the piece ‘Searchlight Theory.’
Do contrast, gentle reader, the longer Mouth Games version above with The Action 4s’ far busier take on the tune top.
They are a pretty ballsy outfit to be fair – that’s a reaction. Syrups need to be glued down even while listening, pearls clutched. Make sure your pacemaker isn’t on the blink when sitting down to listen to this breeze of a thing otherwise forget relaxin’ in Camarillo you’d be insane to miss out on this, more like a trolley dash down the M25 to the A&E beckons if your batteries are that bit too flat.
Because, ticker alert over, busy frenetic energy is what this super jazz-rock album is all about. Funky bass guitar from Chaplin is a strong favourable aspect to the new record as well and Heise’s tune ‘Smoothie’ where reformed punk-jazzer Chaplin figures strongest is formidable.
Heise is somehow like Joe Zawinul on steroids on a tune like ‘Eclectic Horizons,’ another highlight – and Eger taps along listening to the melody. He displays the same sort of joy as a child knocking five bells out of a biscuit tin with the help of the contents of a generous cutlery drawer. Rasmus Sørensen’s soloing on electric piano is very Chick Corea-like, again, huzzah.
So trebles all round for that triplet feel, able sub-division wrangling of the competing strands and a ferocious d’Artagnan like all-for-one, one-for-all rhythm section tendency from these remarkable fusioneers who never harp on inappropriately or too much.
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