Ours and Theirs, simultaneously released CD recordings by leading New Yorkbased improvising guitarist Mary Halvorson's regular trio Thumbscrew, developed from a residency at the City of Asylum venue in Pittsburgh, and was recorded in a neighbouring studio. It follows their 2016 album Convallaria, though the sound of the trio's tight-knit collective empathy also found resonance on Halvorson's vocal-based Code Girl release earlier this year. Ours is a collection of band originals that are executed organically and with conviction. Halvorson is at her most deadpan on ‘Snarling Joys’, at times coming across like a spacedout Django Reinhardt, while you can probably take a good guess at the target of Michael Formanek's ‘Cruel Heartless Bastards’, which sounds like a throwback to proto-grunge band Pixies with a dose of Halvorson's inventively twangy interjections. The companion CD, Theirs, was recorded in the same session and is a fascinatingly diverse selection of lastcentury tunes from both a standard, latin and leftfield repertoire from Jimmy Rowles' ‘he Peacocks’ and Herbie Nichols' ‘House Party Starting’ through to Misha Mengelberg's ‘Weer is een dag voorbij’. But the more personal Ours is the stronger showcase for this excellent band.