The Necks continue their output of fresh and expansive compositions with ‘Three’
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12.02.2020

The Necks continue their output of fresh and expansive compositions with ‘Three’

Photo by Camille Walsh
Words by Bronius Zumeris

A feast for those into numbers and symmetry – three musicians, three compositions, three words, the 21st record… everything is aligned with severe rationality.

Like previous records, Three is an elongated, airy listen and a dense jumble of styles. The Necks are always adventurous with their music, whether on stage or in the studio. It cannot be said that they’re becoming coy with their output and adapt their arrangements accordingly to retain a fresh outlook.

‘Bloom’ is a cacophony of sound vividly creating an aural tempest which crackles and sizzles and leads into ‘Lovelock’. The enthusiastic constituency of hardened Necks fans will revel in this record. Just like mistaking psoriasis scars as evidence of a heroin addiction, in no way can it be said that The Necks are losing their edge.

By the time ‘Further’ arrives, your listening pleasure will have eclipsed its expectations. Albert Ayler once remarked that the future of music would not be about notes, rather it would be about sounds. The Necks epitomise this principle with great skill and, when the need requires it, gentleness.

The trance-like quality of the compositions stands well alongside their prior releases, a vaunted catalogue of what could be described as experimental jazz, if you’re short of words. Standing outside the tyranny of verse and chorus, The Necks remain at the vanguard of those who favour repetition and expansiveness. It’s another lofty coalition of styles and tones to usher in a new decade.

9/10