The CD title Sketches of Pain is an obvious pun, and Belgian funny-guy guitarist Pierre Vervloesem likes to throw witty and punning titles around, but the cover photo, a bull's-eye-view alternative to the Miles Davis album's cover art, does not seem intended to provoke smiles. The music on this 2010 debut release by Vervloesem's Caca octet is not a treatise against bullfighting, however. The entirely instrumental Sketches of Pain revisits the energetic sounds of the first band that brought the guitarist a modicum of international attention: X-Legged Sally, which burst onto the scene in 1991 with the Bill Laswell-produced avant jazz-rock extravaganza Slow-Up. Vervloesem didn’t lead XLS -- that crown was held by reedman/composer Peter Vermeersch, who went on to front the big band Flat Earth Society -- but the group was an important showcase for his advanced electric guitar sonics nevertheless. A solid yet nimble and driving rhythm section underpinned tight saxophone riffing, and the group delivered concise tunes with precision, fire, humor, and attitude. Vervloesem was in the thick of it all, one of XLS' true standout players. As a leader, Vervloesem has since proved to be an avant six-string master with a Zappa-esque streak, and while experimentation is key to his oeuvre (or Chef-d'Oeuvre), at heart he loves to rock, playing in lineups with powerful support from electric bass, keyboards, and drums.

1		Twist
2		Brajil
3		Abracadabra
4		Sweet
5		Wobbling
6		Exposé
7		Nancy
8		Strav
9		Zgrol
10		Jelly
11		Koyaanisqaqatsi

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