Pain Linguistics

The death of a father and a grandmother, a marriage and the birth of a son… As the filmmaker Ross McElwee observes, "everything begins and ends with family". Filled with black humor and deepest pathos, Time Indefinite is a magisterial chronicle of place and character, capturing the fullest range of human emotion. Museum of Modern Art

This unusual meeting of minds pits bassists Barre Phillips (who also penned the proceedings), Palle Danielsson, Barry Guy, and J. F. Jenny-Clarke with percussionist Stu Martin in a tactile playoff with mixed results. It’s remarkable to think that four behemoths could sound so open, and so one shouldn’t be surprised to encounter a few tangles in “just 8.” For the most part, however, this introductory track maintains the clarity of separation that characterizes the album’s latter remainder. Either way, it’s a jaunty ride into an unprecedented sound-world. Martin anchors “whoop” with his engaging loops amid a menagerie of pizzicato signifiers.