A casual listen might suggest that
Floratone is a new
Bill Frisell project (and that would be mostly correct), except every indication is that this is a fully collaborative project between
Frisell, drummer
Matt Chamberlain, and
Tucker Martine and
Lee Townsend. Composition credits are all shared and they all appear on the front cover. Why is that notable? Because while
Frisell and
Chamberlain are both credited with "loops" along with their respective instruments,
Martine and
Townsend receive only "production" credits -- no instruments. That's because on
Floratone, the pure elements of sound and space are given as much attention as the music itself. Not only are there cool shimmering loops coloring the tunes, but any musical element can get treated, delayed, bounced around, echoed and twisted through 360-degrees of the stereo spectrum. With titles that invoke the South, the songs mostly float along at a languid pace anchored by the bass of
Viktor Krauss.
Ron Miles (trumpet) and
Eyvind Kang (viola) also contribute to several cuts but don't really figure prominently. The focus is squarely on
Frisell and
Chamberlain and the soundworld they've created with
Martine and
Townsend. There's the slight reggae lilt of the title cut with some great dub-style echo and the New Orleans flavored "Mississippi Rising" with its second line rhythm. "Louisiana Lowboat" is somewhat lumbering and clanky, coming across almost like a
Tom Waits instrumental. "Monsoon" rocks things up a bit and "Threadbare" gets a bit noisy, but this is mostly a pretty laid-back affair. It's great to hear
Frisell messing with the delays again in a big way (see also the "West" disc of
East/West) and the pure sonics of
Floratone are as much of a treat as the playing. It's pleasant enough for background music, but careful listening will be rewarded. Try this one with headphones. ~ Sean Westergaard