Perhaps as a reaction to the bloated excess of Fire! Orchestra, this sixth album from the core trio of Gustafsson, Berthling and Werliin is an exercise in minimal simplicity. Apart from the low, brooding hum of ‘Touches Me With The Tips Of Wonder’, every track here is built around extremely basic bass and drum parts. Krautrock is a clear influence, with ‘The Hands’ setting up a motorik pulse, while the insistent stomp of ‘Washing Your Heart In Filth’ seems to set its sights on Can’s monumental ‘Mother Sky’ riff (famously appropriated for The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’). Doom is another touchstone, with the nine-minute ‘To Shave The Leaves. In Red. In Black’ setting off at a sluggish, thuggish crawl that makes Earth sound like Return to Forever. Over these primitive rhythmic strategies, saxman Gustafsson unpacks a deliberately limited bag of techniques, favouring long, lingering calls that bleed over into keening skronk. Gustafsson’s debt to the gruff lyricism of Peter Brötzmann has never sounded so clear – or so effective.