Volume 2 is the long awaited followup from the all-star Chicago trio of QUIN KIRCHNER, DANIEL VAN DUERM & MATTHEW LUX. Although it's been three years since their debut, Volume 1, KVL has continued to hone their brand of call-it-whatever-you-want jazz, keeping many of the same meditative and ambient qualities as their previous album, but expressed in new and different ways - Van Duerm's repetitive and winding organ lines on "Absent Crash," Kirchner's steady & insistent "Compared to What" beat in "Pink Void," and Lux's steady & subtle bass lines throughout.

But that's not to say this a rehash of their previous work, as Marcus J. Moore astutely noted at the end of his 2019 review of Volume 1,

"On an album full of lush tranquility, “Bladewalker” snaps you back to reality while foreshadowing KVL’s next move."

And Volume 2 does step boldly into new territory. The trio gives us the wild free jazz of "Percival's Dilemma," the meeting of electro and afrobeat on "Microvibe," and finally, "Interconnectivity Suite," a stunning 10 minute journey through fields of experimental electronics, dub groove rhythm section interludes that are so tight you could wind your clock to them, ruminative electric piano and eventually ending back into a world of lush tranquility.

KVL isn't coming back around full circle, rather Volume 2 finds KVL expanding and refining their sonic palette. A focus on looking forward instead of behind, and giving us yet another glimpse of what is to come in the future. But for right now, Volume 2 sounds just right coming out of my speakers and I couldn't be happier. 

credits

released April 21, 2023

Quin Kirchner - Drums, Percussion, Sampler, Electronics
Daniel Van Duerm - Acoustic and Electric Pianos, Organ, Mellotron, Electronics
Matthew Lux - Bass, Electronics

Recorded at Shirk Studios in Chicago, IL
Engineered by Nick Broste
Mixed by Nick Broste & KVL at Shape Shoppe & Kind Wizard
Finalized by Casey Rice
Produced by KVL & Nick Broste

Artwork by Damon Locks
Layout by Nick LaRoche

All compositions by KVL (BMI)