Eave – s/t
4.12.18 by Ryan Masteller

Eave is a quartet of minimalist free-jazz interlopers, just a bunch of crazy kids (and their talking dog) sniffing around old haunted trombones and phantom tympani, only interested in uncovering the mysteries of sonic structure and timbral cohesion. That’s right, Shaggy, Fred, Daphn… I mean, uh, Anna Webber, Erik Hove, Vicky Mettler, and Evan Tighe tease out the ghosts that flit through the abandoned mansion of improv, the ones spooking all the locals into never setting foot on the property to figure out what the heck is actually going on in there.

That’s right, “Eave” is like a dark-ass Scooby Doo episode, and although your mind probably went directly to the theme song, that’s not exactly what I mean. It’s more like, what can these four kooks unearth? What secrets can they illuminate in their search for the truth? How can they work together to solve the riddle? What clues can they uncover to help them get to the bottom of this? How are we going to fit all the Harlem Globetrotters in this van? Each note and sound serve as elements to the greater story, and although you may feel like you’re peering through ancient keyholes to the interiors of dusty old rooms as you listen to “Eave,” the unknown beckons. A bastion of restraint, “Eave” is all mood, its cryptic passages goading you forward, ever deeper into the gloom of uncertainty. Rip the mask off whatever monster you find back there!

“Eave” by Eave (no real title necessary) is available from Astral Spirits in an edition of 175. I’m gonna go grab a snack. Want anything?