Pago LibreStepping OutReview

Austo/Russian/Irish/Swiss quartet Pago Libre have been together in one form or another for the best part of ten years, though this is the first time I've come across them. Sounds like I've been missing out on the evidence of this album.

This is one of those bands to whom the idea of musical boundaries is anathema. French horn, double bass, piano and violin engage in groovy, joyous and occasionally very silly romps that hoover up bits of European folk, Hot Club swing, post bop and free improv and spit them out playfully.

Pago Libreveer from engaging daftness to spiky intensity to episodes of tender beauty with consummate ease; fans of anyone from the Mahavishnu Orchestra to Anthony Braxton will find something to keep them happy here.Well, almost; the most non-boring record you're likely to come across this year.