Disc of the day: 10-11-09

trio VD: Fill It Up With Ghosts (Babel BDV2985)
The three musicians are Chris Sharkey, Christophe de Bézenac and Chris Bussey, and their corporate name has nothing to do with sexually transmitted diseases and everything to do with the fact that they played their first gig together on Valentine’s Day in 2006, apparently.

Sharkey plays guitar and bass parts simultaneously and clearly takes inspiration from death metal players and Derek Bailey in equal measure; de Bézenac plays saxophone and can be remarkably delicate or play with such attack that his sound has more in common with the slap and pop of a funk bass player than with other reedmen, and Bussey plays drums, although he usually sounds like three drummers at once.

The instructions that come with this debut CD is that it should be played loud. I haven’t quite plucked up the courage yet. Even at modest volume levels I find myself standing in the middle of the room, staring at the speakers and muttering things like “good heavens” and “bloody hell”.

There is quite a lot of music being produced in this country by young instrumentalists that feeds heavily on the traditions of both free jazz and heavy rock. It is often quite skilled and often leans towards an angry noise. I am able to admire it but I can’t say I like it.

But trio VD are something else entirely – or is it just that they are better than all the others? More focused? More original? More skilled? Probably all these things.

Perhaps Sixes And Sevens is my favourite – ten minutes plus which starts with a quietly menacing, increasingly intense drum and bass beat topped with manic saxophone, before it gives in to a kind of zombie hells angels movie theme. And then all preconceptions go out of the window as it becomes an almost subliminal hum and scritch-scratch, sticks scraped on cymbals, throats cleared through squeezed sax reeds, a wiry guitar thrum on repeat. Early on in the seventh minute there’s another dramatic rock phrase before we are back to more ambient creaks and moans. There is the temptation to lean close into the speakers at this point even though you know you might regret it, but that’s how it stays until To Whom? sets me back on my heels once more.

This, and Rash, and Returns, are all scary monsters of songs. But strangely seductive, too. And just try the title track for some superhuman accuracy and precision combined with real madness – extraordinary! Is that Tim Berne I can see standing in the wings with a big smile on his face?

I hear trio VD are absolutely awesome live. My worry is that I might be irredeemably scarred by the experience. I still have to brave the volume control above 3 yet.

For the strong in heart and mind, the band launches this disc at the Purcell Room on Saturday as part of the London Jazz Festival.