Play Off is an album of multi-percussion chamber pieces by composer Vasco Mendonça and performed by the Portuguese percussion group Drumming GP. The compositions are in the style of classic avant-garde percussion pieces that leave fans of the genre spellbound in live performance. The album is made up of four pieces broken into multiple movements: “Play off,” “American Settings,” “Three Memos,” and “Aphasia.” The timbres have been chosen with deliberation and precision by Mendonça and performed with equal precision by the players. There are no wasted notes or walls of sound; every note has been chosen to fit in a specific way with an interplay between deep heavy sounds, and light delicate sounds.

The beautiful moments are haunting with the use of a singing voice. There are particularly lovely moments where the pitch of the voice is matched with bowed vibraphone. The more drum heavy movements don’t groove so much as they flow. The technical skill of the performers, and the masterful intertwining of lines in the composition, is clear throughout.

Recording percussion music with its wide range of dynamics and timbres is a challenge, but Play Offdoes it well. The subtleties come through clearly, although the listener will get the best effect through nice headphones or speakers without background noise to cover the delicate passages.

Play Off is not an album the average listener will go to for casual listening, but for the contemporary percussion fan there is a lot to love.