The 14 pieces on the second CD by Michigan's Scavenger Quartet are somewhat difficult to describe, downright impossible to label as to genre. The critic has thus been granted rights to circle around and around the subject, an airplane waiting on its landing slot. The ensemble, active since 2002, combines players who have been involved in two bands well known on the Detroit music scene, Only a Mother and the Immigrant Suns. The former emerged as the brainchild of composer and multi-instrumentalist Frank Pahl; Only a Mother drummer Doug Gourlay is also present, as is one of the group's reed players, Tim Holmes. The final scavenge to complete the group was Joel Peterson, fairly mild-mannered as bassists go and also a clarinetist. These four players have, individually and collectively, been involved in theater music, free improvisation, various strains of world music, and of course the singer/songwriter notebooks of Pahl. Instrumental music has also been one of Pahl's interests throughout his career, his ready involvement in various theater and dance projects serving to sharpen his sensitivity and abilities in this area. It is this facet of his work that is most apparent with the Scavenger Quartet, including not only his distinctive repetitive patterns but his genius with instrument invention. So-called "automatic" devices were one of his obsessions circa 2005; lovely tracks such as Crimson Jellyfish and Savage Sawfish are graced by the likes of binary-sequenced doorbells and a toy popcorn popper. A tidy instrumental blend seems to have been the desire on this CD despite such odd equipment, even the saxophonist avoiding the usual tendency of attracting individual attention with the immediacy of a teenage pimple. Excitable Sea Porcupine begins with what sounds like a Balkan theme, the tight ensemble playing up to the fine standards of the Immigrant Suns. This is also the first track where musical directions loosen up a tad and things get a trifle weird -- prior to that, listeners may frankly think they have stumbled upon some kind of lounge album. That being a particularly vague genre raft floating in the large murky sea, the danger of relying on such labels is aptly illustrated, complete with a few final gulps of saltwater. The players' interest in free jazz of all styles can be felt on some pieces -- but this is hardly that kind of music, in which a buildup of energy can sometimes become the only mutually understood goal. Allowing the music to inhale, exhale, repeat, developing slowly or not at all, is a discipline associated with many areas of music, some of which have already been mentioned. The brilliance of these players, the beautiful recording, and the obvious overflow of connotations and references means that whatever this is, it is hardly boring. It always seems like there should be more downright excitement, however. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

1		Marvelous Argonaut
2		Crimson Jellyfish
3		Wonderful Nautilus
4		Elegant Mermaiden
5		Fine-Haired Medusae
6		Excitable Sea Porcupine
7		Shy Polyps
8		Savage Sawfish
9		Sea Mirage
10		Gummy Stickleback
11		6, 000 Mureys of Julius Caeser
12		Dreaded Cuttlefish
13		Curious Barnacles
14		Brittle Starfish