Album Review: Icy Blue Planet

Infinity suggests the probability of all possibilities and the possibility of all probabilities.

It’s an apt name for this Hawke’s Bay duo – multi instrumentalist Pateriki Hura and drummer Cameron Budge – who have now shown on two albums that their musical sweep is broad and astonishingly expansive for a duo.

In a similar vein to their self-titled debut album, Icy Blue Planet is a mixture of groove laden, dynamically textured and beautifully crafted instrumentals.

The nine tracks vary in length from the taut and edgy guitar blaze of Bucket at three minutes twenty three seconds to the towering nine minutes-plus Days On End 1,2 & 3 which has a lyrical saxophone melody and feel reminiscent of Weather Report at their most reflective and then morphs into a laid-back piano-primed interlude before switching gears into a rousing gnarly guitar workout.

There are elements of smooth jazz, specifically on the George Benson-styled The Phantom, gritty rock of the kind you’d expect from Neil Young’s Crazy Horse, funk, the blues and even the occasional ambient hue.

The musicianship and production is impeccable, which makes this second serving from Infinity one to dine out on.