In mid-September 2025, Screwgun Records dropped another archival Tim Berne concert without warning, dubbed In Lieu Of, by Berne’s celebrated Snakeoil quartet of the 2010’s. Consisting of Berne on alto sax, Oscar Noriega on clarinets, Matt Michell on piano and Ches Smith on drums, this is the group that made a string of well-received albums on the ECM label, introducing Berne compositions which went further out in sophistication and struck a tighter balance between the designed and the extemporized and blurring the distinctions between the two.
In Lieu Of isn’t even the first new Snakeoil release in 2025; six months earlier Snakeoil OK suddenly appeared. While that particular concert memento captures the band during their third year since recording their debut album, In Lieu Of was taped sometime during the prior year, in 2012.
“Spectacle” appeared on the self-titled Snakeoil album released early in that year. It’s a calling card of sorts, with Berne writing parts of the tune with the careful construction of the symphony score but balanced out by group improvisation that serves to extend the scored parts. This live version has Smith digging even deeper into his percussion bag of tricks — including a glockenspiel — while the rest of the band cycles through a series of circular figures. One of those figures becomes the springboard for a stirring Berne solo that segues naturally into the concluding statement.
A feature of live Berne performances is that Berne chooses material that fits his personnel but that never means he feels beholden to play compositions just because they were part of a recently released album. Many songs are either variations of previously released songs, appearing on a later album or not ever recorded in a studio at all. Thus, live albums are not mere souvenirs but standalone, unique works.
“Son of Socket” falls into two of these categories, as it’s a variation on a song (“Socket”) that wouldn’t appear until the next year on Shadow Man, but it was already an epic at this point. This half-hour performance could be better thought of as several, shorter pieces connected together. Early on, a signature Berne knotted syncopation occurs, somehow reeled off flawlessly. Those type of passages reappear, in between bouts of improvisation. Noriega is adept at finding spaces left behind by Berne to either solo or comp, whatever his muse tells him to do. Mitchell’s feature near the midpoint is even more impressive, following a rhythmic code that only him and Smith seem to understand. Smith on simply a snare does the same with Noriega for his own feature. Berne and Mitchell layer on a pattern as they shift from the deconstructed to the intricately constructed, like a finely tuned machine.
“Sketches Of Pain” was part of Snakeoil’s setlist in 2012 but apparently making its first appearance on a record here. It’s another long-form sequence of episodes of varying density and orderliness. Early on, hectic arpeggios give way to Noriega’s furious asides, which slyly become the catalyst for a new arpeggiated pattern. Mitchell spreads his wings with resplendent flowing chords, making his presence known even amid a prime Berne solo and Smith on glockenspiel. Berne, Noriega and Mitchell play interlocking parts for the next motif instead of in unison. The ending is the calmest part of the journey, leaving no clear resolution as Berne issues his final utterances through his sax as Noriega pulls back into long, sustained notes.
Mastered masterfully by David Torn, In Lieu Of is well above ‘official bootleg’ quality; it’s easy to forget that it’s a club date if not for the applause and Berne’s song announcements in between the performances. The paramount quality is that of the band itself. Teeming with talent, Tim Berne’s leadership and musical scores harnessed it and exploited it to its fullest. In Lieu Of is another captured moment when this magic was happening, making exceptional music that only these four people could carry out.
Get In Lieu Of now from Screwgun Records’ Bandcamp site.
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