There’s a fitting back to basics approach to Precipice, the London trio revelling in a menacing minimalism (underscored by song titles such as ‘And Then There Were Three’), with the trio’s tightly honed sound eschewing the expansive sonics and numerous guests of 2021’s Liminal Space.

This latest outing starts in meditative terrain with ‘Jellyfish’, which soon establishes the sonic space and finds Rahman building a head of steam for a pile-driving solo. The sparse mood is maintained throughout the first third of the record, in a more measured approach to their early records, that went for a full-on visceral assault on the listener’s senses. Yet, things soon start to ramp up, first through ‘Vespa Crabro’ where Rahman’s saxophone leads us into a heavier domain, piling on the tension, and then ‘Black Lacquer’ with Donin’s bass drawing the trio into a crescendo of intensity.

Recorded in a tiny three-metre square studio in three two-hour sessions, the smell of sweat coming off the walls is palpable as they interchange lines and rhythms to create a groove. This is perhaps best exemplified on ‘Linus With The Sick Burn’, where Donin’s quick-witted bass ducks and weaves between sax and drums. When calm descends it’s an uneasy one, ‘Solenopsis’ stretching out with middle eastern squalls of sax above and frenzied percussion below, while ‘Katabatic’ maintains a gently walking bass and knotty sax lines throughout. Perhaps this band’s most mature album to date, the hard touring has forged a deep empathy between this trio, whose live shows will doubtless see these pieces evolve even further.