Roam The Hello Clouds, Near Misses (~scape)

Like a Russian plane meandering across Alaska, I’m surprised this one wasn’t picked up on radar sooner.  Despite featuring on Stefan Betke’s ~scape label (I’m damned, as ever if I can find that “~” key), and featuring members of Pivot, who feature the drummer from Triosk, who features on the last Savath and Savalas album, it hasn’t featured in enough press for my money.

The awkwardly named Roam The Hello Clouds are an Australian three piece: Laurence Pike on drums, Phil Slater on trumpet, and Dave Miller filling the gaps on laptop.  Near Misses feels like an imaginative continuation of Miles Davis’s fertile 1968-71 period; indeed its construction (or re-construction) is Macero-like, spliced together from a day’s worth of improvising.    Slater rolls out with the languor of Miles on In A Silent Way, rising to some ragged frenetics on “Sprinter” and “Uniform 64”.  My admiration for Pike is already on record – he is relentless, reinventing and reshaping the beat even more forcefully than Jack Dejohnette would have done (I don’t think Miles ever played with Andrew Cyrille…now there’s a thought).  His percussive work is peerless throughout, but on “Geoff As The Hulk” and “Sprinter” he takes the rhythms out for a walk deep into Autechre country.  Dave Miller contributes the remainder, which includes a whole lot more than Jarrett/Corea sonic burble and Michael Henderson-like one note bass patterns; grinding textures and sounds from outwith the jazz spectrum into the grooves.  “Death and Possible Dreams” builds from the last post intro to a fearful climax with singing bowls and evil hiss, while the bells and samples on “Pretender’s Hand”, when nailed to one of Pike’s more regular drum patterns, could easily pass for one of Prefuse 73’s more interesting moments. 

Near Misses is on the money, on the corner, and should be on your wishlist, not on your blindside.  Now, on your way…

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