DATADYR – Woolgathering

The Norwegian trio known as Datadyr is a musically enticing one, and this dynamic group shows impeccable skill here with respect to delivering powerful tunes that are rooted in jazz but where prog, blues, and traces of Americana are expertly woven into the mix. What amazes me is how seamlessly they slide from one end of the spectrum to the other, which is to say that they elegantly and rather gracefully move from hard-hitting and fierce to tender and fragile in fucking two seconds flat. Truly brilliant! Datadyr sound absolutely fearless as they tear through their vibrant, energetic compositions with total commitment while simultaneously managing to imbue the tracks with experimental atmospheres. Impassioned, diverse, and strong on melody, the LP has a wonderful sense of swing to it and the interplay between the members is uniformly impressive and inspiring.

“Woolgathering” is an exhilarating record that fans of the jazzier side of prog seriously ought to check out, but I strongly encourage those of you who are fond of organic, crunchy, and nuanced instrumental rock with an abundance of ideas to it that you also make a note of this wicked 33-minute gem. With this stellar output and the debut offering by Soft Ffog, the new label named Is It Jazz? Records is off to a flying start.