The Gentle War, is the superb new album from Australian piano trio Trichotomy and the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed Naim Jazz debut Variations. Recorded shortly after the band’s UK tour early last year it finds the lauded trio in especially dynamic form and while their music could be compared to the likes of EST or The Bad Plus, Foran also cites his time here as an influence on the music - and not just our beer, but bands such as label mates Neil Cowley Trio, John Taylor and Acoustic Ladyland - but The Gentle War is very much the sound of a band developing their own unique sound.

The Gentle War finds the band happily building on the success of Variations but is more tightly focused on the trio itself. Mixed by Brent Sigmeth (The Bad Plus) the album brings a rockier edge to the mix but without compromising on the beauty of the piano sound. It’s an aural reflection of the band’s music, what one critic called their ‘juxtaposition of aggressiveness and tenderness’. Indeed it is this friction which is at the heart of the band’s appeal: Their music is both densely rhythmic and sharply melodic, with Foran’s excellent compositions seeking a balance between heavily notated sections and completely free improvisations and with the trio allowing ideas to develop naturally.

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 Inspired by a diverse range of influences from Aphex Twin to Vijay Iyer, and Tortoise to The Bad Plus, Trichotomy’s music combines a dense rhythmic focus with the melodic clarity of a Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau or Stravinsky and like fellow Australians The Necks, whom they cite as an early influence, there is a remarkable attention to detail and a desire to allow ideas to develop naturally within their music. A key focus is the balance between piano/bass/drums, with the trio maintaining a free flowing three way conversation with no one dominating and all contributing integral parts. Compositions often find a fine balance between heavily notated sections then completely free improvisations.

”Variations” their third album, and the first to be released internationally, features a variety of melodic and rhythmic landscapes, with the relaxed structures of Foran and Parker’s intimate songwriting decorated by the group’s spontaneous musicality. The 'variations' come from the mood and texture created by the intuitive interplay between the three members of Trichotomy and the subtle balance between delicate textural explorations and vigorous driving pieces. They shift effortlessly from beautifully subtle ballads such as ‘Please’ and ‘Ascent’ to the densely ferocious ‘Chunk’ (where Marchisella's bass sounds more like a distorted electric guitar), ‘The Unknown’ whose disjointed rhythms sound completely natural, and ‘Variations on a bad day’ which moves from single piano notes to dense polyrhythmic phrases in a fraction of a second.


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