Point Juncture WA

Hailing from Portland, OR, Point Juncture WA deal in adventuresome pop compositions with evident influences from jazz, classical and the avant-garde. The strong rhythmic focus surrounded by delicately unfolding atmospheric instrumentation seems to have roots in the Tortoise school of arranging. Each track is distinctly driven by a traditional pop structure and lyrical melody that shifts impetus song by song, a style akin to the work of His Name Is Alive. Straight-ahead noise rockers like "Biathalon" are less effective than when PJWA take a more relaxed approach, allowing for slow burning build-ups or more spacious syncopated tangents. "Kings II" is a lovely little Latin folk-inspired piece with tasteful trumpet, acoustic guitar and percussion that provides one of the album's best backdrops for the velvety vocals of Amanda Spring. Heart To Elk is a very solid collection of songs that provides a sort of well-versed reinterpretation of the history of art rock of the past two decades amalgamated into a collectively forged contemporary sound.