Reid Anderson, Dave King, Craig Taborn: the start of this intimate fellowship, also a narrative showing the invaluable role of friendship in music, is dated 1982. At the forefront are songs based on a pop sensibility, played live without sequencers and delivered by astound­- ing improvisers and virtuoso instrumentalists, eschewing the muscular gestures of soloist free-styling and improvisatory furore and thus making wisdom audible: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. They all put themselves in the service of compact songs in which the overall sound itself becomes the event. The power and magic of this musical statement lies in the modus operandi of the soloists’ restraint and a precise finger-tip feeling for the textures and dynamics of the songs. The fusion of acoustic and electronic elements, resonating melodies and a punchy production aesthetic characterise the band’s sound. Whether calmly fluid or eruptive, Golden Valley Is Now’s finely tuned music is beautifully direct and is a declaration of love to the song.