Jakub Klimiuk is a Polish guitarist, now living in London, drawing his own band of locals into his compositional world. Klimiuk’s glaring disadvantage to many listeners will be his somewhat bland guitar style and sound. The rest of the band actually exude a reasonable degree of toughness, even if that edge is still quite soft. Reedsman Simeon May frequently provides textural interest, with his rich-burr solos.

Klimiuk’s melodies are open and optimistic, with a calmly cerebral nature. ‘Absence Of Colour’ is a relaxed drifter, topped by a wiry, supple tenor solo from May, with the leader wisely allowing ample soloing space for his crew. Next, there’s an articulate, sprung-string bass solo from Pearce. Mark Lockheart guests on one track (technically two, but the other is one of the scattered mini-studies that act as preludes to full pieces), and the pairing of his tenor with May’s bass clarinet proves illuminating. The final run consists of three tunes that drift into the distance, creating a soft ending without a climax.

Klimiuk sounds better when soloing than when negotiating his mellow themes, sometimes turning up the mild distortion-frosting dial, his picking preferable to his diaphanous strumming.