Medeski Martin & Wood: Radiolarians III

Yesterday, August 4, Medeski Martin & Wood released Radiolarians III. The record is the third of the Radiolarians Series and was released on their self-owned label Indirecto.

I became familiar with Medeski Martin & Wood during my semi-jam band fan stint. Quirky to English translation ... while others were deeply submerged in the jam band waters, I just kind of floated along the edge picking and choosing where to stop and tread water for a while. It was during that time that a friend of mine handed me a tape of a live show and insisted I listen. I popped in the tape, an audience recording, and it turned out to be MMW. I thought, hm, not bad but ended up tossing the tape on a pile.

Since then, MMW always seems to make an appearance in my collection in some way or another. Well, guess what? They've made another appearance. And, that brings us to Radiolarians III. I got my hand on a copy of the record a couple of weeks ago. I cued it up on my music player and let it play in the background while I was working. This of course isn't the proper way to form an opinion on a record. But, I learned one thing right off, I can work with it playing without it getting on my nerves. It's always a plus when something is non-nerve wrecking.

So, yesterday, while trying to decided what to listen to, I remembered it was release day for Radiolarians III. I cued it up and gave it a proper listen. I've decided that I like Radiolarians III better that I & II. MMW do a bang up job of putting together laid back, experimental, jazzy jam band fare. Three tracks in particular stand out, "Kota," "Undone" and my favorite of the record, "Walk Back." Fans of MMW won't be disappointed by Radiolarians III. I also think, others like me, who are casual listeners will enjoy this one too. If you're among those of us who can listen to music while working, this is a good one to spin.

Track Listing

• Chantes Des Femmes
• Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
• Kota
• Undone
• Wonton
• Walk Back
• Jean's Scene
• Broken Mirror
• Gwyra Mi

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