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The Exu — The Exu
(Discus Music 182CD, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-02-17

The Exu Cover art

The Exu is an acoustic jazz trio featuring Norwegian drummer Emil Karlsen (who has previously played in combos with Matthew Bourne, Phil Durrant, Mark Hanslip, and many others), double bassist Dave Kane (a regular member of Paul Dunmall’s recent endeavors), and multi-instrumentalist James Mainwaring (Space Flight, Django Django, Roller Trio, Mycorrhiza, Martin Archer’s Anthropology Band, and many more), here handling saxophones; the group is currently based in Leeds. There you have it — whatever can be done with saxes, double bass, and drums in a jazz-meets-edgy rock style, the Exu is up for giving it a try, and they certainly execute their ideas well, with Kane and Mainwaring sharing the group’s compositional duties. With an aggressive and punchy almost-punk attitude the trio acquits themselves well, only rarely slowing down the pace. Karlsen and Kane create some spirited grooves that Mainwaring can meander through with ease, laying down bright, energized melodies that capture the moment. Kane’s “That’ll Do It” exudes that punchy spirit moving freely between brilliant sax sprites and ever-shifting rhythms at the bottom end, while “Kurt (For Kurt Cobain)” is an unabashed rocker that drives hard and greasy, leaving the listener stunned. There is some of that manic chaos here (and throughout the rest of the album to a degree) but it never obscures the raw beauty of what’s coming from the players. It’s worth noting that with sax, bass, and drums, there are no chord instruments for the players to need to break through to be heard — all three are playing with an equal footing, and all three can be heard at all times. With “In That Case”  the group tones it down for a softer approach, which by this point in the album the listener should be good and ready for (especially following “Bug Glass”), it almost sounds like an improvisation. A pair of tunes “Pancakes” and “Waffles” also begins with what seems like an improv, but settles into a playful jazz honk piece for the second half. This is one of those albums that will grow on the listener with more plays, each spin revealing more of what this trio is made of. A solid winner.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): The Exu

More info
http://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-exu-182cd-2025

 

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