Talk Memory

BADBADNOTGOOD expanded their instrumental arrangements on Talk Memory, working with guests including composer Arthur Verocai. Strings, horns and harp add different kinds of movement around the trio, giving the music a wider range of colours without removing its reliance on ensemble playing.

“Signal from the Noise” opens at length, letting a theme grow before the group moves on. Elsewhere, shorter passages make the changes in instrumentation more apparent. The album connects jazz improvisation with carefully arranged sections, so a melody can feel settled even while the musicians keep altering what happens underneath it.