Monstrance

Monstrance

[2.5/5] It’s doubtful that when Andy Partridge said his seminal post-punk group XTC had gone “in the fridge” earlier this year, even the most devoted fans expected the guy to rebound with a double-CD of spacey, improvised rock; but with Monstrance, that’s just the odd detour Partridge has taken. Joined by original XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews, as well as Andrews’ Shriekback bandmate Martyn Barker on drums, Partridge scrapes, chimes and reverberates his way through nearly two hours’ worth of overdub-free improv-mercifully edited down from eight-plus hours by Future Sound Of London guitarist Stuart Rowe and engineer Merv Carswell. Anchored by Barker’s coffin-tight grooves, the set’s best moments (see the alien-dub terror track “Torturetainment” and the skittering, almost-pop-song-length “Mig”) come in brief-but-gripping flashes. Whether you’ve got the patience to wade through both discs to find them, of course, is another story. (APE HOUSE) Aaron Burgess