An early look at The State of Things which is to be released in March. Guitarist Quentin Angus who was born in Australia shows his considerable technique organically enough on opener 'Broken Bones'. And yet the version of 'Pure Imagination' is more of a comfort blanket of a listen however impressively harmonised which it certainly is and with Nate Smith on drums there is always something interesting going on. German pianist Can Olgun and bassist Desmond White complete the line-up and the title track with its gritty audio news items sets up a darker contemporary feel to the piece in so doing injecting yet another point of departure. 'Enigma' has a more experimental feel structurally and allows singer Michael Mayo to show the acrobatic range of his voice. Standards 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and 'What a Wonderful World' as choices aren't so vital and certainly more interesting things are going on elsewhere such as on 'New Beginnings'. But Angus is a player with a lot to say and the ensemble interplay dances along in sure fashion on an album that scores plus points throughout for the quality of its harmonic ideas, its positivity and sense of light.