Anyone who’s heard virtuosic and versatile Italian bassist Lorenzo Feliciati with his no less than four other RareNoiseRecords bands Naked Truth, Berserk!, Twinscapes and Mumpbeak will know he’s adept and adventurous in equal measure. A player that is as steeped in the language of Jaco Pastorius as he is in contemporary prog-fusion, Feliciati is however unbound and unprejudiced in his musical choices on this, his second solo outing, and follow-up to his 2015 album KOI. If there is an overriding theme it’s an elaboration and jazzification of King Crimson’s brainiac riffing – with the opening title-track sounding like a pseudo spy-movie score, the bassist’s rich fretless lines pushed to the fore, ahead of a dark and menacing Phrygian theme. The spidery chord sequence outlined by Feliciati on ‘The Brick’ leaves ample room for drummer Wackerman’s artful smacks and the throaty brass parts from trombonist Pierluigi Bastioli, baritone saxophonist Duilio Ingrosso and bass trombonist Stan Adams, add welcome tonal colours before some unfettered soloing from Roy Powell’s guitar-esque Hohner Clavinet. It’s the brass that bring shades of jazz to these rocking arrangements, with ‘14 Stones’ a welcome showcase for Cuong Vu’s atmospheric trumpet set against high, pitch-shifted, bass chords, before things get heavy on a half-time horror riff. ‘Black Book, Red Letters’ is an understated highlight as the bassist’s tenderly plucked notes are wrapped in a long-tailed reverb, with Claudio Corvini’s mournful trumpet emerging from the ambient mist to softly harmonise with saxophonist Sandro Satta on the slowly evolving chords. With Crims drummer Pat Mastelotto and axesmiths Antonio Jasevoli and Mattias IA Eklundh also aboard there’s plenty here for fans of sophisticated shredding. Feliciati is to be applauded for bringing continuity to it all with his authoritative bass work and impressive grasp of composition and production. It’s an uplifting listen and no mistake.