Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Trey Gunn / David Forlano — Select Habits of Invertebrates
(7d Media 7d2533, 2025, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-04-17

Select Habits of Invertebrates Cover art

Back in November and December of 2024, Trey Gunn and David Forlano got together in the high desert of New Mexico to record the first of their collaborations. They were presumably in a studio, not actually out in the desert — the credits mention a place called The Nest in Santa Fe. Gunn is of course a well-known musician here at Exposé, with credits that run deep into the world of progressive rock and improvisation. Forlano not so much, but on Select Habits of Invertebrates he holds his own. Not that it’s generally possible to determine who is doing what in this music. Apparently both of them have electronic rigs that can grab sounds the other creates and modify them on the fly. You can sometimes identify Gunn’s Warr Guitar ripping through the mix, and Forlano is pictured with an EWI (and is also credited with sax and flute), but much of what’s going on consists of unstructured electronic noises of indeterminate lineage. Bleeps, blops, thumps, sproings, clicks, and clacks come and go, sometimes coalescing into jerky rhythms, sometimes just wandering in time. But the thing is, it kinda works. No, you can’t really dance to it in any conventional sense, but it’s not grating or unpleasant. If you’re familiar with the type of improvisation that started with King Crimson in the 80s and 90s, this should fit right in. It’s in the same sonic space. Free improvisation, whether it’s acoustic or electronic, sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. I think this one works.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Trey Gunn

More info
http://treygunn.bandcamp.com/album/select-habits-of-invertebrates

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.