CD Review: Chris Higginbottom – Where Land Ends (F-IRECD63)

(Review by Wesley Stephenson.) The second and new studio album by Chris Higginbottom features 6 tracks and clocks in at just under 50 minutes in length. In that time the music makes a good effort to be “both accessible and challenging, to play and to listen” as stated in the press release, but I guess that depends on who’s listening? Stylistically the record is free to flit in and out of form with various genres being employed as and when necessary. The team that make up the record certainly have a wealth of experience to bring with drummer Chris being joined by Mike Outram on Guitar, Tom Cawley on Keyboards and Robin Mullarkey on Bass. Track 3 is the stand out for me, the drumming on Shifty is so tight it’s out of this world and the atmospherics from the Keys and Guitar are really fantastic with the Bass underpinning a nice solid Drum and Bass style groove. A great piece of music, the highlight of the record, although the lounge driven climax of Where Land Ends itself is certainly a contender as it builds to it’s un-ashamed and conclusive rock freak out finale. Personally I think the record on the whole is pretty decent. It’s a pleasant, light and breezy affair, technically unquestionable, very smoothly played with tight slick production and I would recommend it as a treat listen for those who want a bit of high quality modern Jazz and Funk fusion. Chris Higginbottom – Where Land Ends (F-IRECD63)  is now available - details. Wesley Stephenson