Never Were the Way She Was

by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld (Constellation, CST113 CD/LP/download)

A string of intelligent, wide-ranging and, quite frankly, wondrous releases has, in the past decade, made Montreal's Constellation the go-to label for musicians and artists who are blending influences and platforms in their work. While sax player Colin Stetson and violinist Sarah Neufeld both have solid histories elsewhere - he on his own projects, notably the acclaimed jazz/electronica trilogy New History Warfare; she with band Arcade Fire - this is the first time that they have recorded together.

Never Were the Way She Was is a deliriously accessible work of eight sections - chapters, perhaps - that are recorded live with no studio afterthoughts. Delirious is a deliberate description, for we are invited to view the music as the fictional sensory journey of a girl as she experiences the world, its topologies and its sensations. …