Pixel - 2015 - Golden Years

(41:13; Cuneiform Records)

This 2015 album was the third from Norwegian jazz quartet Pixel, following on from their 2014 breakthrough ‘We Are All Small Pixels’ and 2012’s debut ‘Reminder’. They comprise double bassist and vocalist Ellen Andrea Wang, drummer Jon Audun Baar, trumpeter Jonas Kilmork Vemøy, and saxophonist Harald Lassen (with everyone contributing vocals), and they are attempting to blend together indie rock with jazz in a way that is most unusual, and in a manner which is virtually guaranteed to upset purists from both genres. The main songwriter is Wang, who write three of the songs by herself, one with Lassen and one with Baar, with each of the others contributing two solo pieces each.

With everyone coming to music from very different musical directions, it is no surprise that the songs are quite different with the writers often taking the lead on their own compositions and the others sitting in behind to provide the support. They are sympathetic with each other, and Wang is often much more than just a bassist providing the foundation as she is happy to be the driving force. While the sound is essentially acoustic, Vemøy and Lassen increasingly employ subtle effects that provide deeper textural depth to the already charged mélange of bright harmonies and protean rhythmic thrust. This is music designed to be much more than just superficial, and it is expected that the listener will do just that and pay close attention to what is going on. It must be played on headphones otherwise many of the influences will just pass by, and there are times when Wang provides wordless vocals as an accompaniment, but they are low in the mix and the subtlety is sublime. It is a release which grows on those prepared to spend the time on it and is certainly worthy of investigation. It is still easily available on Bandcamp.  

Kev Rowland, April 2023

Links:
https://www.pixelband.no/
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/