Garden Party, the 2019 debut album by Dopolarians, featured an almost entirely Southern line-up: the core trio of saxophonist Chad Fowler, vocalist Kelley Hurt and pianist Christopher Parker, all from well below the Mason-Dixon line, recruited under-sung veterans, drummer Alvin Fielder from Mississippi and New Orleans tenor man Kidd Jordan. Only heavyweight ringer, bassist William Parker of NYC, brought Northern grit to the session. This follow-up finds the group's original drummer, Brian Blade, replacing the now deceased Fielder, and trumpeter Marc Franklin providing a second horn in place of 86-year-old Jordan.

The music, presented across two long tracks and one shorter, tends towards spontaneous composition rather than free jazz, with dramatic themes and louche balladry arising organically and sudden flurries of unison horns suggesting the use of conduction. Hurt's wordless vocals add a soulful moan and William Parker is, as ever, impressively adept at generating eternally deep bass vamps. Yet, somehow, the jams never quite seem to take off and, instead, drift from one idea to the next like a paddle steamer on The Big Muddy. Perhaps a little more time together as a working unit will sharpen their urgency.