This is Wertico's second CD with this trio, which teams him with guitarist John Moulder and bassist Eric Hochberg. The compositions are entirely original, with each trio member contributing songs. "Clybourn Strut," a Hochberg composition named after one of the city's finest diagonal avenues, begins the disc with a smash. Wertico lays down an insistent groove consisting of a clave beat on drums and a complementary pattern on cowbell. Moulder takes the lead on a distorted guitar line that leads into an intriguing chord change. By all appearances, the whole performance is right out of the "jam band" craze that's swept the nation in recent years. But there's a feeling underlying it -- a dark, disturbing, manic force -- that carries more weight than the average hippie dance groove.

Moulder's "The Underground" is slow and dreamy, like a bad trip gone good, and the form is unusual: It's a 16-bar blues in 6/4 with a pleasant melody on top. Moulder's style bears a resemblance to that of John Scofield, especially in the way he lays way back behind the beat. Throughout the album, he employs a variety of guitar effects, churning out unique timbres that give the CD much of its characteristic edge.

"The Visit," a Wertico composition, is a highlight of the disc, which is surprising since it's a bass feature. Too often an upright bass solo is something listeners merely put up with -- we appreciate the artistry but fight off yawns -- but in this case, Hochberg improvises lines that are truly inviting. The number begins with a free-form intro played on bowed bass and some sort of wood chimes (a rain stick, maybe?) that seems to shimmer back and forth from one channel to the other. It moves quickly into another wonderful groove with a simple, repetitive guitar line that seems plugged into some kind of mandolin-like effect. Then there's the fine bass solo by Hochberg -- actually two bass solos laid on top of each other, one bowed, one fingered. Combining the two bass styles, the guitar effects and the percussion, the trio comes up with a style that is inventive, but not self-indulgent.

In his PR notes, Wertico is quoted as saying: "The records that I like, regardless of the style, have a real, almost hitting-the-ceiling kind of energy, as though it's continuously peaking. It's as if the record's going to melt if it got any hotter. That is what I hope we achieved with this record, an uplifting, energetic, almost exhausting (in a good way) musical experience."