The phrase ‘Actions For Free Jazz' – pinched from Don Cherry and Krystzof Penderecki's ‘Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra' – served as the slogan for Smalltown Superjazz, the free-jazz orientated subsidiary of Norwegian independent record label Smalltown Supersound, which, between 2005 and 2012, released a slew of avant-garde jazz-related albums that were raw, noisy and fun. Now the AFJ-Series seeks to bring the label out of hibernation with a compilation album providing an overview of its delightfully snotty output. Except this isn't your standard compilation album. Instead, noise musician and improviser Lasse Marhaug has selected and edited 40 tracks from the label's weighty back catalogue and structured them into two 20-minute collages (one for each side of the LP). Apart from a brief blast of ‘Louie Louie' by garage punk outfit Cato Salsa Experience and an equally short blurt of The Thing's much-missed full throttle madness, there are no riffs or hooks – just a disorientating crash through snippets of scabrous sax honk, high-strung guitar twang, crashing drums and heavily distorted electronics.

It's a frustrating thing to listen to, and a missed opportunity to shine a genuine light of rediscovery on some of these still fresh-sounding tracks. Let's hope they get around to releasing some actual new music soon.