Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Lars Bech Pilgaards Slowburn: Freiheit

Lars Bech Pilgaards Slowburn: Freiheit

By Eyal Hareuveni
January 14, 2014
View read count

The sophomore release of Danish guitarist

Lars bech Pilgaards Slowburn

" data-original-title="" title="">Lars bech Pilgaards Slowburn quartet (following Mammut, Mom Eat Dad Records, 2012) blends his diverse and often conflicting tastes for alternative, art rock, punk and no wave, raw sounds and free- form improvisation. Pilgaard is assisted by the same attentive musicians that played on the quartet debut—renowned bassist Thommy Andersson, member of

Pierre Dorge

guitar
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Pierre Dorge's New Jungle Orchestra, clarinetist

Lars Greve

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Lars Greve, member of the quintet

Girls in Airports

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.2009

" data-original-title="" title="">Girls in Airports and drummer Thomas Eiler, his collaborator in the avant-punk outfit

SVIN

" data-original-title="" title="">SVIN.

The metallic, raw sound of Pilgaard's guitar is still dominant but now his sonic palette is more profound and subtle, even fragile at times, searching for new, exotic sounds and colors such as Middle-Eastern quarter-tones. He leads the quartet through different forms, moving from the intense and dense outburst of "Tr?ls"}} to the lyrical "Ultraviolet" and "Venner" (in both of it's variations), with beautiful bass clarinet and clarinet solos of Greve, the structured, art song "Sorteb?r," the gentle, moving "Gjellerodde" to the enigmatic, cinematic "Orient." "Sonic," the longest and most powerful piece here, features the quartet building the tension patiently, till the intense, noisy eruptive coda.

The interplay of the quartet is organic through all these diverse modes and moods. Pilgard enjoys the wise, articulate support of Greve who now has a much more crucial role in the sound of the quartet than on its debut. Andersson and Eiler are inventive and imaginative colorists, anchoring the free-form sonic excursions with loose frameworks. All solidifying the mature, nuanced and colorful sound of the quartet.

Impressive and highly engaging.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Tr?ls; Ultraviolet; Venner 1; Sorteb?r; Gjellerodde; Orient; Kinder; Venner 2; Sonics.

Personnel

Lars bech Pilgaards Slowburn

Lars Bech Pilgaard: guitar; Thommy Andersson: double bass; Thomas Eiler: drums; Lars Greve: clarinet, bass clarinet.

Album information

Title: Freiheit | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Mom Eat Dad Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Willisau
< Previous

Reverie At Schloss Elmau
Next >

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.