This rockin'-on-all-levels Swedish band has echoes of everything from Mahavishnu Orchestra, mid-period King Crimson, Henry Cow and Univers Zero, to more recent musicians such as Biota, the Mnemonists, or the various projects of Guigo Chenevier. Combine the physical punch of the earlier bands with the"postmodern" conceptual/contextual ideas of the latter grouping, and you have one of the most intriguing discs of the latter half of the '90s.

Kirk Chilton's violin and viola, often voiced with Lars Bjork's various clarinets, give the band a finely textured sound. Guitarist Hakan Almkvist also plays bass, keyboards, tapes and loops, in the multi-threat tradition of a Fred Frith. On "Algebra of Needs" the instruments isolate their own rhythmic spaces, with superb drumming from Hasse Bruniusson that plays with, and off of, the sci-fi sounds of the rest of the Ensemble. Bruniusson demonstrates solid jazz and rock chops that mark him as a percussionist to be dealt with. The vocal work here is also something else, consisting of emotional shouts, talking, processed voices, and what sounds like a small play being enacted. The latter event occurs on the seven-minute "Offering," which sounds like a radio play from mars, and has one of the trippiest headphone environments I've ever encountered. This segues into "Cross of Infamy," more bizarre mental candy with Bruniusson on marimba, and lots of startling effects. Another great track is "Three Figures," which plays with a stunning array of popular song-form gambits. "Middle of the Moment," has a dub bass feel, with swirling, echoplexed violin and handclaps. "Epigram," ends the disc with a lovely, through-composed melody stated by clarinet and strings, over a lonely piano arpeggio, and a low, spare bass.

But there are 11 pieces in all, and to describe them any more would risk the element of pleasurable surprise you're in for if what you've read thus far sounds appealing.

The CD booklet is a trip in itself. As compact disc art and design become more and more imaginative, it's once again possible, in this post-LP era, to have the pleasurable experience of looking at a challenging object d'art, while at the same time engaged in active listening to the medium of music. There's a half-dozen panels in the Ensemble's booklet that provided much of that same Album Cover Thrill I used to get before I started growing hair in my ears, and made the music on Scapegoat that much more interesting. If you like creative music, you gotta hear this one.-

Larry Nai /PROGRESSION Issue31- Spring/summer 1999 USA

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