Cartoon is a UK-based trio made up of the versatile multi-reeds veteran Chris Biscoe, an underappreciated player best known for his long, close association with Mike and Kate Westbrook; the experienced experimental drummer-percussionist Roger Turner and younger North-East-based bassist John Pope. Change of Meaning is compiled of two tracks: ‘Unbuilding’ is over 37 minutes long and is a studio recording – this is what it says on the label stuck on the CD's silver tin container in spite of audible applause at the track's start. ‘The Plate’ is shorter and runs for 18 minutes, and was recorded ‘live’ at the Bridge in Newcastle. Biscoe is someone who has always engaged with a broad vocabulary from early forms of jazz through to progressive bop and the avant-garde. Here he veers between melody-driven Ornette/Dolphy-informed punctuations and more abstract, extended sonics in a collective dialogue highlighted by Turner's exceptionally resourceful percussion and drum kit textures. ‘Unbuilding’'s journey into more stripped-down interactions perhaps alludes to the track title. ‘The Plate’, on the other hand, is a sparser affair with Biscoe more visceral, abstract even on soprano with Pope's acoustic bass taking on more of a playmaker role. The convoluted narrative isn't easy to follow, even in its micro aspects, and it might be that it's better experienced as a physical ‘live’ performance.