Last Charge Of The Light Horse has always had a fluid nature. A vehicle for the potent songs of Jean-Paul Vest, the band has continued to evolve as circumstances and the music has required, in recent years solidifying around the quartet of Vest (lead vocals & guitar), Pemberton Roach (bass), Shawn Murray (drums), and Bob Stander (guitar), frequently complemented and supplemented in the studio by a range of guests.

For the newest Last Charge EP Vestiges, though, Vest acknowledges that “The title is a nod to the idea that this set of songs drifts a bit more than usual towards ‘solo project’ territory.” With Roach “off traveling the world,” Vest has brought in guests both familiar and new to add flavor and texture to another round of his intoxicating tunes.

Each of this quintet of songs is its own tasty morsel, full of rich textures and flavors, but each also feels like it’s grounded in a singular concept.

Kickoff cut “What Befalls Us” opens with a long, evocative intro featuring Vest’s guitar and Keenan Zach’s bowed double bass in what feels like a late-night meditation. That sense is only enhanced when Vest’s vocals arrive 80 seconds in to help the listener consider the vagaries of fate and the nature of identity (“a line from Levertov, if I recall: / ‘Are we what we think we are / or are we what befalls us?’”).

“Absentia”—a song-poem about longing—features Vest’s own rhythmic bass playing, rendered extra deep and resonant by co-producer and mixer Jim Watts under what feels like almost a spoken-word performance. “I will marinate in this hope while I can,” Vest sings as Beth Goodfellow’s percussion pushes the song along, with Watts adding new layers as they go. In the end, though, Vest reminds us that longing has its charms: “Please don’t mistake my delay for uncertainty / or a clumsy game of playing hard to get / you don’t scroll past the movie for the credits / I’m not done savoring the anticipation yet.”

“Perspective Lies” is the one track here that feels like a band production, anchored by Murray’s shuffling, stutter-stepping drums. Here the theme is wisdom, laid down in lines like “You are not the sum of your mistakes” and capped with this chorus: “But perspective lies / from every angle / we all seek the ley lines / when the truth is tangled.” Matt Darriau’s sax adds a soaring, jazzy counterpoint to the surging/falling Murray-Jon Flaugher rhythm section, with Watts and his partner Pam Aronoff contributing background vocals.

The entirely solo “Asked And Answered” presents Vest’s interior monologue as he mocks a Negative Nancy with a condescending streak. “A little more scorn if you can / straight into the camera / look down your nose / raise those eyebrows / really sell it.” It’s a verbal bullseye of a character sketch made that much more powerful by a stark arrangement of just bass and vocals.

Closer “Amid The Clamor” personifies its title with bright acoustic guitar (Vest) and burbling bass (guest Bakithi Kumalo ) over clattering, textured percussion (Murray and Watts). The rhythmic layers shift and morph through the song under a lyric about those peaceful moments when you receive “A little calm amid the clamor / open sky beneath the moon,” with Gwen Vest’s background vocals providing a complementary glow. In the second half, Nick Vest’s trumpet takes a punchy, doubled solo that outlasts the rest of the fading-out instrumentation at the close.

I don’t know about you, but for me solitude fosters contemplation, and Vestiges feels like an extension of a moment like that. It’s a collection that’s both brooding and witty, serious and light, rich with insight and layers of meaning, the poetry of the lyrics perfectly paired with spare and evocative arrangements. Vest promises that the next set from Last Charge will be a full-band outing that rocks; for now, though, we can bathe in the considerable and particular light cast by these five luminous tunes.

Rating: B+

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