***1/2 Bundy K. Brown/James Warden/Doug Scharin

DIRECTIONS IN MUSIC

(Thrill Jockey)

No band name, no song titles, and no vocals -- which is, presumably, all the more reason to pay attention to the music offered by these three indie-rock explorers. It's an effective, if somewhat austere, strategy that reflects this group's minimalist approach to improvisation. Miles Davis once referred to his un-classifiable journeys into the gray areas between jazz and rock as "directions in music"; Brown, Warden, and Scharin apply the science of jazz arrangement to the folk art of the indie-rock song, with a guitar/bass/drums foundation. Brown, who's been down this path before as the bassist in Tortoise and Gastr del Sol, handles some of the refined guitar work, most of the subtle keyboard touches, all of the bass, and a good deal of the production. Warden adds acoustic and electric guitar. And Scharin, who's also played in Rex, June of '44, and Him, does the drums.

The result emphasizes texture over technique, offering eight flowing tracks of melodic, solo-free variations on several related themes. Chiming guitars dominate the relatively straight-ahead opener. Elsewhere, dub-inflected production lends an ethereal edge. With its smooth, shifting rhythms, the fifth track could almost pass for a stripped-down take on jazz fusion, and the disc's final number features a lone acoustic guitar picking out a wistful melody.

-- Matt Ashare