Keeping up with avant-jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson and left-field drummer extraordinaire Kevin Shea is an imposing task. There are the myriad groups Halvorson leads, collaborative efforts such as Thumbscrew and her various free-improv forays. Meanwhile, Shea lends his unhinged beat to experi-mental institution Talibam!, madcap jazzsters Mostly Other People Do the Killing and noise merchants Sweet Banditry. And the two just got busier. Along with Crystal Stilts bassist Kyle Forester, Halvorson and Shea have resurrected People, their outré DIY-prog band, following the release of 3xaWoman: The Misplaced Files, a 2008 LP that’s just now seeing the light of day.
Like People’s first two platters (’05’s self-titled debut and ’07’s Misbegotten Man), 3xaWoman is a twisted, playful set that blends fret-hopping spaz-rock damage with brain-frying melodicism, candied harmonies and jocular wordplay courtesy of the ever-offbeat Shea, who doubles as lyricist. Another key element is Halvorson’s unlikely lead-vocal role. Elsewhere, she’s known for her six-string magic, but here, her honeyed-yet-manic wail sublimely complements the band’s herky-jerky rhythms.
“I don’t consider myself a singer,” Halvorson says. “But in my mind, it doesn’t matter, because it fits with the aesthetic of the band, which is rough and crazy, unpolished.” Fans of Halvorson and Shea wouldn’t want it any other way.—Brad Cohan