' three previous LPs for showcased a weave of free, resistance-oriented, vanguard jazz, bracing spoken word, and liberation for community edification. , the band's fourth studio effort, marks its debut for They recorded at Figure 8 in Brooklyn and 's legendary jazz studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. is focused and fierce; it is, in places, measurably different as the band -- (aka ), saxophonist/clarinetist , trumpeter , bassist , and drummer -- learned to use the studio as another musical instrument, employing its possibilities for space, textures, dynamics, overdubbing, and intricate mixing. The musicians all play multiple instruments. Set opener "Free Love," introduced by , liberates the concept of free love from the 20th century's purely sexual connotations toward tender, even spiritual manifestations. Propelled by haunted, hypnotic basslines (electric and upright), and strident reeds and brass playing in tandem, multiple layers of percussion and electronics join Afro- Latin grooves and modal post-bop. "Our Land Back" offers dialogic arco bass, spectral piano, and careening drums, framing trumpet and saxophone lines. The players interact, fall back, and complement one another as the tune swirls and bleeds. enters with a polemic: "... Weaving past futures/and not-yet threads of a story/ending in the present/always late arriving/who holds our stories/who takes our land/who knows what happenedâ?¦." Horns and drums trade fours while bass and trumpet shift vamps and push her argument forward. The title track is a rhythm orgy, juxtaposing cadences and harmonies of global carnival music from New Orleans to Rio de Janiero and beyond. The circular processional progression weds a nursery rhyme to a second-line chant to the freedom of collective joy. "Soundness" interweaves edgy sax and trumpet solos, recalling the , as bass and drums frame a polyrhythmic parlance. asserts a manifesto in celebration of secure space, a room for hopes, contemplation, decisions. It's a joyful noise indeed. "Root<=>Branch" (an homage to late trumpeter and close ally ) finds chanting her name above a meld of African percussion, ambient electronics, and rippling spiritual jazz in a swaying exhortation to pursue freedom -- inner and outer -- at any cost. "Sunshine" is a tender, bittersweet ballad sung by guest poet, singer, and pianist . Aesthetically, it feels spiritually akin to singing with the on the 1970 soundtrack to . Closer "Degrees of Freedom" is trademark with frenetic, ever-shifting polyrhythms, dueling bass and cello (with guest ), and soaring horns framing 's sensual, committed lyric. Fans of will embrace the changes: expands the group's already abundant gifts. Anyone -- fan or newcomer -- open to avant jazz and spoken word will register delight, surprise, and possibly awe at the creativity and inspiration on the album. ~ Thom Jurek