Ghost of Electricity

Jazziz

Ghost of Electricity [tends] toward a scrupulously structured, deceptive kind of simplicity rife with creative energy. A strong yet spare bass-and-drums pattern powers “Angle,” arguably the disc’s most haunting moment. But it’s actually the vast spaces between the rhythm instruments that seem to summon, from myriad directions, the clarinet and six-string’s suspense-laden melodies. As the piece progresses, the openings fill up with considerable harmonic breadth, a gorgeous weave of color, deepened with lush overdubbed feedback.

The spaciousness continues on a number of other titles, including “Gone Away,” “Long Way,” and “When,” which come across with a dreamy, plaintive quality, at times reminiscent of the best ECM soundtracks. An introspective sojourn, this recording demonstrates the maturity of Junk Genius as a band, and Goldberg and Schott as composers. But growth in artistry does not necessarily mean excessive quietude: “Hollersdale” is a catchy earful of shattered, quasi-bop hard-riffing; and the methodical roughness of “Strung,” with its rhythmic rumble and slicing clarinet, is anything but complacent.

Sam Prestianni

East Bay Express

Rather than borrowing tunes, Goldberg and Schott let the ghosts of that bygone era inhabit them and find contemporary expression in new compositions. The uncannily sympatico quartet plays what sounds like Eric Dolphy-meets-Bill Frisell modern jazz — sometimes quite raucous, more often meditative and pastoral – but is actually a collection of “hymns, stomps, hollers, anarchic strum-alongs” and “border region musics” strutting in post-Charles Mingus threads.

Derk Richardson

AllAboutJazz 4 out of 5

…modern jazz with a fresh yet curiously interesting slant…

Glenn Astarita

Allmusic.com 4 out of 5

…the sublime Ghost of Electricity finds [Junk Genius] drawing inspirational fuel from the immense and varied fabric of American folk music…Stunningly recorded, the album is soaked with a brooding, troubled energy that one suspects tormented many a forgotten bluesman…Of the more relaxed tracks, “Aberdeen” is a heart-breaking gem, with Schott putting aside his electric axe to breathe pure soul from a national steel guitar…a powerful and enjoyable document that rewards repeated listens.

Tom Benton