Anti-House, review by John Fordham

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German saxist Ingrid Laubrock, a creative presence on the London contemporary jazz scene since the 1990s, has moved to New York, and the impact on her work is palpable. This group, featuring the innovative guitarist Mary Halvorson (an explorer of experimental rock as well as free jazz), is more inviting than Laubrock's earlier Sleepthief trio, which also featured Tim Berne drummer Tom Rainey but had a more clinically investigative air. Laubrock's expressiveness takes in austere, somewhat contemporary-classical melodies suggestive of the late Steve Lacy, snorting Evan Parker-like maelstroms (dynamically partnered by Halvorson in metallic-thrash mode) and at times a kind of free-grooving postbop. The pieces are short, varied, and half of them get additional fizz from the dramatic Canadian pianist Kris Davis. Though some of the motif-swapping strategies sound a shade robotic, Anti-House is a vivid indication of Laubrock's growing independence – and Halvorson's Derek Baileyesque scrambling runs, Hendrix distortions, wild on-the-fly detunings and massaged jazz-guitar grooves offer constant diversions.