Pause For The Jet

Daniel Padden has established a solo career via releases as The One Ensemble Of Daniel Padden on Textile, Catsup Plate and Secret Eye, whilst holding down a position in Volcano The Bear since 1995. Last Year, Padden dropped the 'One Ensemble' prefix from his name, releasing The Isaac Storm on Ultra Eczema. Pause For The Jet follows up on that album with a collection of strange, often very short compositions based on beautiful, droning string instruments or shambling, jazzy interludes via horns, otherworldly percussion, and on occasion even a few vocals. The scrappy, structure of all this makes for an erratic listen, and you'll find some pieces infuriatingly short - for example, the thirty-nine seconds of electroacoustic clarinet oddity 'Bustle' will leave you wondering what would have happened had the tape kept rolling. Another fun-sized marvel, 'Full Colour Lemon' channels the spirit of Tom Waits' stranger compositions, while the likes of 'Three Farewells' falls in line with contemporary avant-garde minimalism. Pause For The Jet is certainly a fragmented, chaotic listening experience, but it's riddled with invention and some brilliant instrumental performances from Padden and his select bunch of co-conspirators. Highly recommended.