JAZZ PROG

Fractal Sextet’s Sky Full Of Hope (RareNoise) is an international project featuring the guitars of Swiss composer Stephan Thelen and American Jon Durant, Italian keyboardist Fabio Anile, Israeli drummer Yogev Gabay, Swiss percussionist Andi Pupato and ex-Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin. Their combined talents produce an expansive, articulate series of compositions. While the disciplined interplay of their 2022 debut remains, this new album feels less stiff and more off-the-leash, with surges of pitch-bending synths and molten guitar all stretching out and racing towards a trippy, hypnotic state of contemplation. The brainchild of Jaga Jazzist drummer Martin Horntveth, Gouldian Finch’s Schizo (All Ape) has a manic everything-all-at-once energy that is a homage to the rich sounds of old-school fusion and funk. Handbrake turns of texture and meter are flawlessly executed by…