We’re going to slip back for a bit into shorter reviews, particularly when it comes to bands like the German improvisational collective Web Web. I had no idea what I was in for, but based on the single line description for their latest album Plexus Plexus on LaserCD (a lot of my blind purchases stem from perusing the New Arrivals and Restocks section and just seeing what catches my eye), I had to check it out. “More psychedelic, sometimes more krauty”, you say? Responding to this singular duck call I grabbed it, and the result is a fine, groovy set of tunes, taking inspiration from a number of different sources and stirring them into a sauce that’s tasty if not exactly essential. But like a good sauce you can pretty much pair it with anything.

I haven’t dug deeper into the band’s catalog yet, but this is the sixth release for Web Web is seven years, with guests expanding the lineup depending on the day and mood. For Plexus Plexus, the core unit of Robert Di Gioia on keys, bass and percussion, Tony Lakatos on sax and flute, Christian Von Kaphengst on bass and keys, and Peter Gall on drums (and keys…everyone plays everything here) are joined by guitarist JJ Whitfield to add some sinewy lines to a set of 14 tunes improvised over two 10-hour sessions. The overall feeling owes a debt to Miles Davis’s electric period, but more the spacious, laid back vibe of In A Silent Way versus the more out there and burning Bitches Brew and later. Tracks like “Apotheosis” “Nyx” and “The Argonauts Assemble” have a cinematic psychedelia swirl to them; if you’ve listened to the work David Holmes has done for Steven Soderbergh films, my ears put it in the same ballpark.

But there also some much more jazz inflected tunes, like the lovely “Sacred Tree” and the group’s cover of Moondog’s “Bird’s Lamanet” where Lakatos’s sax hangs in the air like a lost Getz/Gilberto track. Another comparison that kept coming to me was Medeski, Martin and Wood, especially their stellar album Friday Afternoon in the Universe, although this feels more expansive in sound and color. Whitfield’s guitar takes on a variety of shades and tones, from the skronky lead that opens “Garden of Hesperides” to the ultra clean pluck that adorns the bopping “Sun-Hero”.

When I mention Plexus Plexus is tasty but not essential, I mean that this is an extremely enjoyable album, one I’m glad to own and put on whenever I need something fun, or relaxing, when there are people over or when I’m alone. It sits in this collective of album I may not immediately reach for but when I do I know it’ll be a good time.