Review
Recorded straight to tape at Los Angeles’s Zebulon, SML’s first unedited live LP strips away the painstaking production and surgical editing that defined their previous efforts. The quintet instead leans entirely into their intuitive in-the-moment chemistry, proving they can generate immense groove-based momentum without any "studio trickery."
Across two side-length improvisations, the band engages in a patient, democratic dialogue where “listening” translates directly to “waiting,” allowing each player room to breathe. On “The Drums,” Booker Stardrum’s crisp percussion sparks a mutating, Fourth World-adjacent jam, while the more languorous "Roundabouts" rides a repeating, cyclical rhythm. Critics laud this balance, noting "the reconciliation of centrifugality and cohesion" as the record’s definitive trait. Rather than descending into free-jazz chaos, the musicians show a striking "affinity for well-paced developments." What remains is a warm, deeply unified performance that captures the group in their rawest, most magnetic state.
