Fontanelle rises, fully-formed, from the carcass of Jessamine. If you were ever a Jessamine fan, you'll recognize the group's parentage in Fontanelle's sound: the downbeat, almost meditative Davis-esque free-jazz mood remains, propelled by electric piano and slow-burning bass lines. But Fontanelle, bereft of vocals, is free to stretch. The music swaggers, loose-limbed, across a closed-in landscape that's jittery with reverb and funky organ punctuation. Percussion sits at the forefront of the mix, recorded in that vibrant way that lets you feel every drumbeat resonate in your chest cavity; you know that it's a real hand holding a real stick pounding a real drum. Guitar and keyboard melodies weave themselves into increasingly complex helical patterns, then slowly dismantle and recombine.

The overall feeling here is one of potential -- not potential as in "some day this band's gonna be great", but potential in terms of stockpiled energy. Over six long tracks, Fontanelle undulate towards crashing jazz climaxes, only to sublimate them, tantric-style, like ocean waves that swell ominously and then subside. The haunting "Picture Start" coats itself in dream-sequence haze, swapping its "big" moments for shimmering epiphanies of drums and cymbals. "Niagara" sports a repeated sequence that, dischord aside, lingers on the edge of becoming a straightforward rock melody. You'll dig the other tunes, too -- especially album closer "Counterweight". This cut, with its funk chops and moonwalk ambience, sounds like the band is trying to see how long they can dance around the possibility of playing Bowie's "Money" without ever actually getting started. Eventually, and quite enjoyably, it all falls apart.

Fontanelle's six tunes are closer to conceptual meditations than linear musical storytelling. They're more likely to approach a concept from 360 degrees than they are to tell a simple story as a beginning-middle-end narrative. Though fans of jazz-styled, improvisation-friendly music are likely to take Fontanelle's sound in their stride, some will still crave the linear-style closure of a "big" ending. Before beginning your relationship with Fontanelle, it's important to understand that the journey is vitally important, while the destination itself is irrelevant...assuming you get there at all.