Following his gently epic Blue Note debut, Lovers, Cline returns to more familiar territory with a spate of post-bop workouts that revives his collaboration with Julian Lage. If Lovers was a large ensemble evocation of 1950s mood music, Currents, Constellations is altogether tighter, sparser and decidedly more neurotic. ‘Amenette’, for example, veers merrily between a post-bop, almost Johnny Smith-type theme and some splendidly mashedup instrumental spikes, free and leery. ‘Swing Ghost '59’ is equally schizoid, a swinging theme pitched against distorted power chords that then skitters away across interminable, single-string lines. It's all spiced with wit and humour and if some Cline/Lage lines wander into noodle land, there's always Colley's earthy bass and the ever-urgent Rainey to keep it all grounded. At times it all tries a little too hard, as Lage and Cline revel in their undoubted chops, but they can also take it down to a less-is-more vibe, as on Carla Bley's typically quirky ‘Temporary’.