«A busy participant in the projects of Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, Frode Gjerstad and others, Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love is both clever and versatile in his approach to his drum kit. Such traits serve him well in the context of this solo percussion venture and his precise skill with his sticks is evident from the opening «No way out II». Moving from scraped cymbals to chattering toms and snare and back again, his creative use of temporal space, dynamics and non-linear rhythm move the piece beyond a mere display of technical acumen. Other tracks accomplish similar feats. «Snap» deals in subtle and fractured patterns that suggest martial cdences without stating them outright. Exploring the resontating properties of rubbed surfaces on «Butterfly Wings» he creates radiating ripples of metallic sound that are both hauning and beautiful. Kindred experiments on «Gulebøy» fall somewhat flat by comparison, but «Fast Colour» is a blur of interlocking rhythmic constituents as the drummer´s sticks race from one surface to the next maintaining a momentum that is never heavy-handed. Perhaps most instructive is Nilssen-Love´s decision to keep things marshaled and to the point while avoiding the popular trend advanced by some drummers (Han Bennink anyone?) in a solo context of bowling the listener over with thundering volume and bombast. Nilssen-Love shies away from gimmickry as well, sticking primarily to the inherent properties of his kit, and rarely integrating extraneous elements. An equally effective aspect is the relative brevity of the program and while there are moments where listener attention is liable to lapse, by and large the recital remains absorbing throughout its duration.»
Derek Taylor