The Vancouverian septet’s follow-up to the impressive debut A Thing to Live With takes their compositional skills and energy one step further: Release the Saviours is pure RIO dynamite. The playing is tighter, the tracks more complex, the music more exciting than on the first release — which wasn’t a bad run for your money to start with! Stephen Lyons and company (including the four-handed, four-footed drumming monster formed by the pairing of Dan Gaucher and Skye Brooks) are in top form here, blending influences from the fields of Rock in Opposition, avant-prog, free jazz, Americana, punk, and modern West Coast jazz.

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