Mark Holub’s (Led Bib, Blueblut) new band Anthropods returns with their second album. This follow-up to the warmly received self-titled debut album, described by Jazzwise as a, “richly eclectic set of enjoyable and unclassifiable music celebrating the joy of collectivity”, brings the band into new directions, exploring the spaces between composition and improvisation. The composition of the suite began at the culmination of two years of working together, Holub elaborates: Anthropods for me was always more about finding out what these five people sounded like together, rather than coming in with a clear direction in mind. With Corona restrictions lifting, we were finally able to tour again, allowing me to delve further into an understanding of what this band is. This understanding led me to the composition of the suite. The idea was to create a whole through composed set, where we could move between composition and improvisation freely.

The composition works as a tool to give us areas to explore as improvisers. The album was conceived as one single piece and travels between all different extremes. There are moments of folk-like pastoral beauty, honking free jazz, heavy grooves, and soaring melodies. This may sound contradictory, or like diversity for its own sake, but Anthropods move through these zones completely smoothly, and the album is a journey from start to finish.