Critical love for (W).A.S.T.E.
Wrack’s …Awaits Silent Tristero’s Empire registered on a few year-end Best Of 2014 lists, including the 7th Annual En Intruso Critics’ Poll, Delire actuel, and #1 Jazz and Improv album in Magnet Magazine.
Wrack: …Awaits Silent Tristero’s ...
“…Wrack is currently supporting what might be its greatest achievement: . . .a four-part suite inspired by the novels of Thomas Pynchon. Bruckmann embeds fast-flying tropes and melodies from classic jazz in his shape-shifting compositions—a kind of nod to Pynchon’s referential gamesmanship—and Wrack negotiates the tricky tunes with its usual breathless precision, adding a satisfyingly off-kilter swing and infectious sense of fun that I’ve never heard from the ensemble before.” (Chicago Reader)
On Procedural Grounds (2012) New World
“Any attempt to pin down Bay area musician Kyle Bruckmann is a study in futility. Here’s someone who jumps from collective improvisation to the skronk-rock of the group Lozenge to jagged compositional forms for improvisation with his group Wrack to electro-acoustic explorations with his duo EKG . . . ‘On Procedural Ground’ is a great place to hear how all of this comes together.” (Point of Departure)
Wrack: Cracked Refraction (2012) Porter
“The onetime Chicagoan started Wrack as a jazz-oriented project, but over time he’s come to focus more and more on jagged themes, unwieldy time signatures, and tricky pinpoint interplay (a la Anthony Braxton), all played with the postpunk energy of his old band Lozenge . . . Drummer Tim Daisy and bassist Anton Hatwich make for a whirlwind rhythm section, and when they buckle down and play hard they sometimes seem to splinter the front line with their momentum as they signal the rapid-fire shifts in Bruckmann’s knotty, episodic compositions.” (Chicago Reader)
Wrack: Intents & Purposes (2006) 482Musi...
“Bruckmann effortlessly occupies the space between jazz and classical music, generating movements of somber reflection one minute, turbulent intensity the next. From Morton Feldman-esque minimalism to Charles Ives-like bluster, Wrack has few equals. . . ” (Troy Collins, All About Jazz)
Wrack: s/t (2003) Red Toucan
“Bruckmann’s compositions are a carefully constructed balancing act between a written hybrid of jazz/classical motifs and improvised interplay. These seven compositions (with one non-original) emphasize a dark, reflective sound that thrives on dynamic variance… On Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman”, the ensemble cuts to the core of the piece in perhaps the most breathtaking version of this song ever recorded (after Ornette, of course).” (Jay Collins, One Final Note)