The sophomore release of the Swedish, Gothenburg-based trio APUH! is released as a cassette (plus download option). Nothing surprising with this trio. The debut album «ETT» was released as the then more trendy option, a limited edition vinyl (with a download option). The trio – reed player Adrian Åsling Sellius, bass player and occasionally a pianist Mats Dimming and drummer Hampus Öhman Frölund, was formed in 2011, and its new album feature the trio in a much tighter and focused mode.

On its debut release APUH! threw everything into a chaotic, energetic improvised blend, from pop to experimental noise and even klezmer music. The four improvised pieces on «Två» – three short one on the first side of the cassette and a 17-minutes one on the second side, still stress the flexibility of the trio, even though the trio insists that their topics cover everything from imaginary animals to missed funerals .

The bowed bass of Dimming sets the nervous pulse on the opening «Hoppaloppa». The extended breathing techniques of Sellius with Dimming low-end bowing send the following piece «Göteborg havs» into disturbing abstract texture, with minimal percussive colors. «En snigels liv», with Dimming on the piano, is a weird, cinematic piece, relying on Dimming spare, distant hammering on the piano keys, contrasted with a playful drumming of Frölund. The long «Ivansviten» show the full sonic spectrum of APUH!, organically morphs from hypnotic, funky rhythm to fiery  outbursts of free jazz and impressionistic sonic searches that eventually form a surprising lyrical coda.

Eyal Hareuveni

Adrian Åsling Sellius (as, bcl); Mats Dimming (b, p); Hampus Öhman Frölund (dr, perc)