LARS HORNTVETH: 4 OUT OF 5 IN GUARDIAN

"Reeds player Lars Horntveth was one of the brains behind Jaga Jazzist, the clubby, noisy mini-big band who gave an extra jolt to the already buzzing Norwegian scene several years ago. His new album, Kaleidoscopic, is more self-consciously grown-up, and, by its very nature, poses several interesting challenges. For a start, it is a continuous 37-minute piece for orchestra - a one-track CD that bucks the trend for shuffle-listening. Like a musical interpretation of Saul Steinberg's single-line installations, it delineates a rambling, picaresque fantasy that moves steadily through different moods and timbres. There are moments best described as classy post-rock; others are minimalist or even "light classical". There are portamento-heavy ambient strings, with echoes of Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Bernard Herrmann-like theme developments. It's no magnum opus, but what Kaleidoscopic lacks in single-minded intensity is balanced by its generous evocation of an expansive, continuous panorama of textures and motifs, given human scale by Horntveth's agreeably gruff bass clarinet." (John L. Walters, The Guardian)