Host review: Untamed abstraction meets melodic coherence

Toulouse quartet Host are musical chameleons, poised between jazz and rock, between improvisation and composition, between ambience and savage noise. But if this genre elusiveness is typical of their generation of European jazz musicians, the results are not.

Whether channelling the “post-rock” of Sigur Rós, the minimalism of Reich and Eno, or the menace of krautrock and death metal, Host – saxophonist Carla Gaudré, guitarist Dorian Dutech, bassist Pierre Terrisse and drummer Théo Teboul – exercise admirable restraint, balancing untamed abstraction with an unexpected prettiness and melodic coherence.

Augmented here by the six-piece Host'chestra, including trombones, violins, a cello and a sousaphone, Doppler has a sweeping, cinematic atmosphere that twists and turns like an engrossing film. hostmusic.fr