The Thing

The Thing pretty much tore my living room to shreds on the release of their last album 'Garage' with its rock 'n roll take on free jazz. Their rendition of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Art Star' especially defined their sound perfectly with a distinctly punk rock ethic applied to what to most sounds like truly out-there jazz. It's hardly surprising that the band is made up of Norwegians then, the country that has birthed some of the most continuously exciting free jazz to date and continues to with labels such as Rune Grammofon and Smalltown Supersound at the fore. 'Action Sound' takes The Thing's skronky jazz rawk and takes it a step further, as can be heard on their stunning cover of Lightning Bolt's 'Ride the Sky'. yeah there's a jazz band covering Lightning Bolt, but more amazing than that is that they pull it off, double-time drumming and squeaking saxophone leading the way into a noise-drenched tempest of wild abandonment. This sentiment carries throughout the album, through the band's own compositions 'Better Living.' and '.Through BBQ', covers of Cato Salsa Experience and Lars Gullin (the shockingly good 'Danny's Dream' and even into their cover of Ornette Coleman's 'Broken Shadows' which while much slower and quieter than the rest of the album is just as vibrant and just as important. Free jazz isn't for everyone, but with The Thing's sense of joy and pure abandonment of all things 'establishment', I hope this record gets them further than the constraints of the genre might usually allow. Huge recommendation.