Reviews 2098

In Puma, Jaga jazzist keyboardist Øystein Moen and Bushman's Revenge drummer Gard Nilssen have teamed up with guitarist Stian Westerhus. As a guest musician on 'One-Armed Bandit', the current Jaga disc, and otherwise in a duo with the motor psycho drummer K. Kapstad or in the Molvaer-Westerhus-Kleive trio, a new ear-plucking in the Norge scene. Half Nelson Courtship (RCD2098) shows Puma as a smithy tinkering with a new alloy of jazz and ROCK. After the tenderly shimmering opening 'Bison Woven' and the initially creaky, electronically printed title piece, Westerhus has his increasingly glowing bell ringing from Nilssen to the white heat, while Moens keyboards put a booming incubator bell over it. Whatever Moen contributes, it's nothing which even removes what has to do with normal keyboarding. Rather, it resembles Zeus in the form of a cloud or a laburnum, with a dark or luminous presence that radiates powerfully. So much so that even the rock transforms into something more elementary, a roaring and rustling that casts its thunderstorm divine and lightning. These grandiose 10 minutes are followed by the mysterious 'Last Waltz', in slow-moving drowsiness, only percussively buzzing through a circling ball until Nilssen switches to swabs, while Moen and Westerhus find it difficult to force the dance to a torque. 'Meow' boomed massively from the start and swelled to a tectonic quake, but how long have cats been galloping? 'Gaberdine Lingerie' is exotic fabric, but just a little interlude. Because now follows with 'Innamorati Osculati' and the damned rest a Quadriga of the sublime. Primal force that tears itself apart and takes shape again in divinely morphing omnipotence, as a wild hunt with flashing and thundering hooves at 'Knitstep', at 'East West Horizontal March', then peeling out of xenoelectronic camouflage, with a somber tambourine drum but inaudible kicks. Most recently as 'Hachioji Silk Blues', with dark organ pathos and shrill guitar. Overwhelming? What else! but inaudible kicks. Most recently as 'Hachioji Silk Blues', with dark organ pathos and shrill guitar. Overwhelming? What else! but inaudible kicks. Most recently as 'Hachioji Silk Blues', with dark organ pathos and shrill guitar. Overwhelming? What else!
Bad Alchemy (DE)

The - routine categorically rejecting - routines from Supersilent are still publishing one magic bag after the other, and the next generation of Norwegian musicians are already at the helm. Also on the rudder - especially the 30-year-old Stian Westerhus, who is titled Norway's most exciting guitar artist and was probably not integrated into the new trio of Nils Petter Molvaer for nothing. Westerhus presents - soloed by rune grammofon - a solo album and one in a trio with the two Twentysomethings Oystein Moen & Gard Nilssen. His approach is characterized by experimentation and expressiveness, precisely applied virtuosity and a flair for short melodies. In collective with the two jazz conservatoire graduates, to whom you no longer listen to their training facility (or do they work so much more in the north than in our latitudes?), Westerhus obviously puts more pressure on them, but without ever wanting to copy music-historical ancestors. The trio most closely associates one or the other live experiments by King Crimson. But even this comparison with Robert Fripp's urge to research is unfair in view of Puma's offensive sound expeditions, because he was pulled by the hair of the hippies. On its own, Westerhus does not degrade the instrument as a material for self-mirroring, but uses it as a trampoline for jumping to unimagined heights (and depths). The little Hendrix cross-reference in the title will not only have been made by fun. If this can be generalized, After a long period of introspection, the desire for expressiveness seems to have gained the upper hand again. It is probably a pleasure that reflects the achievements of previous expressions. Perhaps the best example of this is Stian Westerhus.
Freestyle (AT)

The third album by the three Norwegians Gard Nilssen (drums), Østein Moen (synthesizer, electronics) and Stian Westerhus (guitar, electronics) appears heavy and dark. A mixture of slow guitar loops, isolated rhythm segments and electronic sound samples. The noise avalanche slowly rolls into the valley and paints everything down at snail's pace, whatever is in the way. Your music looks amazingly fine when you listen to it for a long time. Fortunately, one waits in vain for suffocating, never-ending improvisations. 8/10.
Ox (DE)

Puma's shared interest in jazz and experimental improvisation manifests itself as a series of fascinating semi-abstract constructions on this, their third album together. While Moen also plays with Jaga Jazzist and Nilssen with Bushman´s Revenge, the rough-cut metallic constellations and taut leftfield ructions they create here bear closer comparison to the exploratory tussle of free-jazz, krautrock and prog, as well as post-punk New York at its most dissolute and cerebral.
Rock-a-Rolla (UK)

Puma, with Øystein Moen (keys / electronics) and Gard Nilssen (drums) possess a romantic take om improvisation, cutting Westerhus´ guitar with wild free drumming and a symphonic sense of grandeur.
The Wire (UK)

I Puma skaper guitarist Stian Westerhus, tangentspiller Øystein Moen and trommeslager Gard Nilssen et helt egenartet uttrykk som berører og omfavner ulike sjangre. This tredje utgivelse he en helstøpt moden utgivelse. Med enkle, dyptloddende musikalske utsagn folder de ut melodiske, nøkternt composed lydforløp. Noen ganger mörkt kaotisk, men alltid gjennomlyst av en helhetlig kunstnerisk visjon. Assosiasjoner til band som Supersilent he nærliglig, men Puma he likevel noe helt annet. The best generasjon av Kompromissløse lydforskere. 6/6.
VG (NO)

Møtet med Puma driver tankene tilbake til første halvdel av 1970-tallet, i retning av selveste King Crimson. Stian Westerhus, gitar og elektronik, Øystein Moen, tangenter og elektronik and Gard Nilssen, trommer ter seg som et band med fokus på fellesskap. Musicians for mørk tå vekke behag, men gledelig tøff ned til minste detalj 5/6.
Aftenposten (NO)

Levande Puma. Som reports torsdag har guitarist Stian Westerhus mange band i elden. Eitt av dei er Puma, som etter å ha vunne Jazzintro-tevlinga i 2006 segla inn på den elektroniske jazzscena først med "Isolationism", så med "Discoteque Bitpunching", for "Half Nelson Courtship" berre dundrar inn i musikkheimen. Med Øystein Moen stood by på keyboards / elektronika og Gard Nilssen på trommer attåt Westerhus, siste med a hårsveis det er vanskeleg å ikkje assosiere med å få elektrisk støyt. Heals usakleg, says i best meining! Han er også ute med soloalbumet "Pitch Black Star Spangled", men her gjeld det bandet Puma, med eit brytetak i tittelen på eit album som også kjem på vinyl. Puma held koken, men hugs to dra ut koplingane etterpå.
Dagsavisen (NO)

http://www.allaboutjazz.com

http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk

http://www.bbc.co.uk

http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk

http://allmusic.com

http://killedincars.com

http://blog.stereophile.com

http://boomkat.com

http://www.dagbladet.no

http://www.adressa.no

http://www.side2.no

http://www.ragazzi-music.de    (german)

http://westzeit.de    (german)

http://www.soundofmusic.nu   (swedish)

http://www.allaboutjazz.com    (concert review)