Colin Stetson

All This I Do For Glory

The fact that Stetson can draw such varied sonic references together in one cohesive display of virtuosity makes him a national treasure.

For those listeners ready to submit to the unrelenting, ‘off into the woods’ vision of an uncompromising artist operating at the peak of his powers, you’ll find a plethora of pleasures on this disc; even in his gnarliest, wilderness moments there’s always a goosebump payoff.

Despite the extremely metal maximalism of his more famous trilogy, the lower-key nature of All This I Do For Glory allows him to open up his sonic palette, finding dense polyrhythms and (gasp) traditional melody in addition to the characteristically entrancing push and pull of his technique.

This set bears all the hallmarks of Stetson's artistic singularity -- athletic circular breathing, polytonal and harmonic exploration, focused composition, vocalizing from the horn -- all recorded live in-studio without overdubs or loops.

Throughout All This I Do For Glory, Stetson evokes wild and unpopulated landscapes, through which he traverses with long and heavy strides, fearless of the dangers that populate these regions, and he drags us with him.

All the tracks here sound like they could have been made with an arsenal of sequencers and rippling arpeggiators, but it’s all the sound of one man surfing the crests of a series of pulses.

It’s easy to get greedy with a fearless and inventive artist and hope they stay fearless and inventive forever. Glory instead settles into grooves and revisit territories.

Stetson has made eleven albums as a featured artist, either with collaborators or by himself. On his most recent, All This I Do For Glory, he is alone and produces some of the most intense expressions of his virtuosity.

Colin Stetson manages to pull new sounds and rhythms out of his sax on All This I Do For Glory.

There’s a pervading darkness over All This I Do for Glory that makes it a tricky listen at points.