THE BOAT (The Bureau of Atomic Tourism)

Initially, the unpredictable improv may sound like an abstract sound poem, but this switches quickly to first dazzling freak-outs in the New York avant-garde tradition or even throbbing fusion with a nod to Miles Davis’ electric era, before ultimately arriving at muscular jazzrock in the vein of The Lounge Lizards and Belgium’s X-Legged Sally, with ultra-tight themes, subtly introduced electronics and turbulent dynamics. And what to think of the unstoppable groove of the Dunn/Verbruggen rhythm section and the musical action painting of Jozef Dumoulin on Fender Rhodes? What could have either been a failed jump into the deep end or a haphazard performance with the handbrakes on, here leads to a powerful achievement, executed with discipline and the will to incorporate the outer edges of improvised music….’

The caustic blast that opens Eden says it all: The Bureau Of Atomic Tourism is back. It has been four years since Hapax Legomena, but the sextet sounds as inspired and sharp as ever, leaving no doubts about their status as a considerable force in avant-garde jazz.