Al Swainger: ‘Impure Imagination’

‘Impure Imagination’ begins with the impossibly brief and beautiful ‘The Paper House’ and this sets the tone for an album that gives rise to Al Swainger’s Pointless Beauty project: each of the 11 tracks takes us in a different musical direction.

Pointless Beauty is Al Swainger (bass, synths, guitar and piano), Jon Clark (drums), George Cooper (piano and Rhodes), Mike Outram (electric guitar) and Gary Alesbrook (flugelhorn and muted trumpet). Each track is composed by Swainger, with the exception of the percussive and vibey Pacing the Web, which was co-written with Jon Clark.

I often recommend people play albums in the ‘correct’ order, but this is a case where choosing any of the tracks brings a different auditory experience. Take Seedling for example, which establishes a groove that drives along with electronics interspersing, dropping and out and allowing a bass line or a guitar or trumpet riff to appear as if from nowhere.

We’re Only Haunted takes us to a different place, with the piano and bass of contemporary jazz joined by subtle drums and Alesbrook’s gentle flugelhorn. Similarly, Who Are We sounds more like the contemporary jazz piano opening we might expect, before electronics once more seep in and a groove takes us somewhere completely new.

Start where you like and allow Swainger’s Impure Imagination to take you along for the ride.

‘Impure Imagination’ is set for release on 18 September