Mandarin is a transport-thrill. Songwriter Jason Wortham's whispers are like souvenirs; reminders of quiet landmarks; the in-points for recollection; expression stripped to its core. These are the very smallest places he could begin--and it's the perfect place to start--because in the hands of guitarist Matt Leer, bassist/keyboardist Peter Salisbury, and drummer Dave Douglas, Wortham's hushed mantras often turn to contagion-code, grown from a singular, particulate, newly-expanding thought. Their music is the brightest bloom from the blackest black, with all those fitful colors in between.

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