Mammal Hands: ‘Circadia’

There is a beaming sense of minimalist jazz that brings with it a modernity of rhythm on ‘Circadia’, the sixth release from Mammal Hands.

This UK trio takes a new turn as brothers Nick and Jordan Smart bring their piano and sax respectively together with drummer Rob Turner, who brings with him experience as the driving force behind the brilliant GoGo Penguin.

The minimalist opening to this album in the simplicity of Nick Smart’s piano on Window to Your World soon evolves with an insistence as Turner’s drums set the pace. Even Jordan Smart’s sax begins almost imperceptibly before the trio settle into complex rhythmics that always seem to come home.

Track three is Alia’s Abandon, which once more uses complex rhythmic partnership of piano and drums before the sax joins the party with its own simple yet complementary melody lines.

Pianist Nick Smart says of the change in drummer: “We have known Rob since we all started out over a decade ago. We were all part of the UK jazz scene and we always connected over our shared musical instincts and interests. We had to rediscover the soul of our music and Rob has transformed it into something that continues our legacy as well as pushes it forward.”

Not only the first outing with Turner, Circadia is also the first album of the trio on the eclectic and brilliantly-curated ACT Music label. The drummer himself says: “Esbjörn Svensson Trio is one of my biggest influences so to release on ACT feels like coming home as well as starting something new at the same time. It’s one of the most exciting highlights of my career.”

Throughout the nine original tracks that are Circadia the melody lines, rhythms and inventive improvisations combine in a quasi-cacophonic, insistent beauty. By the time we reach the electronic opening of Submerge, we have a clear sense of where Mammal Hands is going: climbing aboard for the journey is almost expected and demanded as the final piano notes die out.

Pre-order Circadia on Bandcamp - it’s released on Friday 27 February 2026. You can also check out their tour dates: this is a band you’re going to want to see live.