Andorra - 2025 - III

(44:01; April Records)

Track list:
1. Lyleland 8:32
2. 53 Days of November 6:53
3. Drone 6:35
4. Three Tree 4:53
5. Mingus 5:33
6. Chroma & Luma 5:49
7. Ember 5:49

Line-up:
Peter Kohlmetz Møller - Fender Rhodes, keyboards
Mads la Cour - flugelhorn, trumpet
Simon Krebs - guitars, lap steel
Nikolaj Bundvig - drums
Morten Jørgensen - bass


Danish band Andorra was formed back in 2020 or thereabouts, and from what I can see they have been an active creative unit on stage as well as in the studio ever since the band was officially formed. Following their initial self-titled album in 2021 and their sophomore production "Current" from the spring of 2023, Andorra have just released their third studio creation now at the start of 2025. This album is called "III", and was released through Danish label April Records.

It is an elegant entry into the jazz universe we get with this band, and it is an instrumental and strikingly compelling and sophisticated take on the jazz tradition we get to boot. If there is a key word to summarize everything about this production for me, then that word is balanced. There is an equilibrium at play here that, for me at least, is strikingly mesmerizing.

On a surface level we get compositions that explore a more dreamladen state of affairs. The guitar leads are elegant and melodic and primarily light toned and clean, with a tone and timbre that often strikes me as closely related to the electric piano which has similar kinds of flowing and elegant wanderings in that instrument's part of the lead sections. The brass leads occasionally tend to be a bit more surging and thus also creating more of an impact, but again with restraint being the order of the day here and careful trajectories and dreamladen movements are the ones you take notice of.

The rhythm section provides a firm foundation for these careful lead instrument textures and the elegant support instrument roles also obviously at play here, with the bassist and drummer having a field day in delivering gentle but often expressive underpinnings here. Maintaining drive and momentum in a firm but unobtrusive manner, and making good use of finer details to add some interesting details to enjoy here too.

When listening to these creations with a bit more attention, there are plentiful of additional details to enjoy too. In how the lead sections alternate, in the manner in which instruments glide back and forth between supporting roles and lead roles, and how, at least as I experience this album, the instruments giving support for the lead instrument currently in charge deliver their own expressive but subtle details to elevate the listener experience in a most charming and unobtrusive manner. Of course, being a mere listener rather than a musician my perception may deceive me a little bit when describing this, but also as a mere listener this is what I believe I am hearing. If it is this or that isn't really important in the greater scheme of things of course, the important bit is that the end result is rather striking and compelling.

While careful, flowing landscapes with ambient and ethereal qualities is a defining feature of sorts here, this is an album that is balanced. We do have more expressive passages too, like a more firm and expressive rhythm underpinning, and we also get some compositions that are a bit more on the experimental side of matters. Cue, for instance, 'Drone', that play around with noise textures and noise intrusions in a distinctly careful and intriguing manner. And while many of these compositions feature a dreamladen orientation, at least initially, many of them tend to develop towards featuring a more impact-oriented conclusion. Hence the initial reference to this production as a whole also representing an equilibrium of sorts.

For those who prefer their instrumental jazz to be a bit more up front and expressive, we get the creation called 'Mingus' to enjoy. This one being a more vibrant, playful and uplifting escapade with a little bit of a funk-tinged undercurrent and what sounds to me like a more technically challenging foray in general. Without ever loosing track of the generally accessible and compelling nature that is something of a default presence here, but it is a more expressive, playful and spirited construction this one.

If the notion of a more dreamladen and at times borderline ethereal variety of jazz delivered with a more firm and expressive rhythm foundation as a careful but striking presence sounds intriguing, and compelling and accessible jazz of the instrumental kind explored in a careful manner where inviting landscapes and more expressive details are very much in balance is a description that also sounds tantalizing, then this is an album you probably should add to your list of albums that warrants an inspection.

Olav M. Björnsen, February 2025

Links:
https://www.andorramusic.dk/
https://aprilrecords.com/