Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nels Cline: Consentrik Quartet

Nels Cline: Consentrik Quartet

By Don Ball
September 2, 2025
View read count

While

Nels Cline

guitar, electric
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Nels Cline has been playing the guitar-hero rock star for the past two decades with Wilco, he continues to release his own solo recordings under various names (including the Nels Cline 4 and the Nels Cline Singers, which, amusingly, contain no vocalists) tailored toward the avant-garde side of jazz (with the notable exception of his lush, lovely jazz orchestra Blue Note release from 2016, Lovers). His 2025 release, Consentrik Quartet, brings together some of the finest jazz musicians working in NYC (and who all have many recordings under their own names):

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingrid Laubrock on saxophone,

Chris Lightcap

bass
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Lightcap on bass and

Tom Rainey

drums
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Rainey on drums. This album in particular seems to focus on Cline's compositional skills more than his well-established improvisational ones. Not to say that he does not stretch out with his guitar at times, especially toward the end of the album, but this is a more collected outing than usual.

Consentrik Quartet is an appropriate name for the group; the musicians circle around the common core of Cline's structures and provide layers that give the songs even greater strength. All the musicians are known for often playing difficult and demanding music, and they tightly adhere to the changing tempos and textures of the compositions. The opening numbers set the mood for the album. First, "The Returning Angel," starts with a melancholy recurring guitar motif, then the rest of the band joins in, playing around the riff. It resembles an orchestral chamber piece, and leads into "The 23," where Laubrock delivers a lovely sax solo over a hard bop rhythm that would not be out of place on one of

John Lurie

saxophone
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">John Lurie's Lounge Lizards albums. From there, Cline's songs switch from spacious soundscapes to intense rhythmic romps.

While full-blown pyrotechnics from Cline and Laubrock of the kind that might be found in their other recordings are not here, there is plenty of intense playing and interaction between the two, with Lightcap and Rainey laying down rhythmic terrain for them to traverse. For example, "Slipping into Something" starts out sedately with Cline playing a lovely melody on guitar—then the rest of band burst in, changing the tempo into a rollicking number, with Laubrock and Cline dueling in some of the most robust playing on the album. It is fascinating to hear how well the two play off of each other, almost telepathic.

But there are also songs like "Inner Wall," an introspective, hauntingly beautiful piece with Laubrock playing long notes on her sax while Cline strums behind her and Lightcap bows his bass. Rainey comes in toward the end of the song to offer a counterpoint to the melody, which then leads into one of the loudest song on the album, "Satomi," dedicated to Satomi Matsuzaki of the group Deerhoof.

The album ends much as it began: the penultimate number, "Question Marks (The Spot)" is led in by Lightcap alone, then joined by the full band, with Laubrock and Cline building tension with their solos against each other, reaching for the cosmos as the song ends. Then the final number, "Time of No Sirens," brings us back down to Earth, Cline playing a calming array of notes as Laubrock slides in over Rainey's snare and cymbals and Lightcap's bowing.

Consentrik Quartet ably demonstrates Cline's formidable ability at composition in addition to his extraordinary guitar playing, as well as the exciting empathetic interplay between Laubrock and Cline that makes one hope for more recordings from this ensemble (as well as live performances). It ranks as one of Cline's finest releases, and one of the best releases this year.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

The Returning Angel; The 23; Surplus; Slipping into Something; Allende; House of Steam; Inner Wall; Satomi; The Bag; Down Close; Question Marks (The Spot); Time of No Sirens.

Personnel

Nels Cline

guitar, electric

Chris Lightcap

bass

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone

Tom Rainey

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Nels Cline: acoustic guitars, effects, production, additional mixing; Chris Lightcap: effects.

Album information

Title: Consentrik Quartet | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

LabRats: Groove Experiments and the ...
< Previous

Introducing Guitarist Ely Perlman
Next >

Nels Cline Concerts

Dec 5 Fri

Saccata Quartet

Solar Myth
Philadelphia, PA

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.