Pitchfork

Chris Corsano, Paul Flaherty, Matt Heyner, and Greg Kelley are Cold Bleak Heat. Sure, those names-- tapping a collective résumé that includes No Neck Blues Band, Björk, Vampire Belt, and the Dream/Aktion Unit-- probably already have some heading for the scroll bar, what with their concomitant connotations of big, screeching improvised jazz. But drop those preconceptions and listen: Less chaotic and more communicative than most would expect, "Pound Cake" opens with Corsano playing the part of a solo man on fire, taking advantage of every bit of space he has for 90 seconds. When the rest of the trio climbs on his back, Corsano is resilient, battling Flaherty and Kelley back when they blow him under foot or when Kelley drops a mammoth bass thump. It’s a battle to the finish that ends in cat-and-mouse playfulness, Heyner leaning heavy on the deep, hollow upright funk he’s been teasing the whole time as Corsano steps on the breaks to let his reed-and-brass chasers fly by in broad daylight. Cold, indeed.