"... Jeff Gauthier is also dealing with a more usual setting for House of Return but he and his associates - guitarist Nels Cline, pianist David Witham, bassist Joel Hamilton and drummer Alex Cline - throw enough curves to make this outing anything but ordinary Take, for example, the leader's "Friends of the Animals." It's complex from the standpoint of form - it's a triple canon - and electronic effects also complement the quirky tune. The net result thus combines structure with a playful sense of freedom. All of these players are exceptionally pointed soloists but they work together for maximum group communication in tunes that run the gamut from richly lyrical and poignant to odd and idiosyncratic. Gauthier is a volcanic composer and soloist and he demonstrates the violin's continuing vitality." - by Donald Elfman
