"The newcomer (Balasubramoniam)'s contributions are particularly good on “Structured Clay,” and in studying his playing you get the occasional impression that the general rhythmic complexity of Indian classical music isn’t a bad touchstone for New Bag’s overall conception of structure. The opening “Sugarpie” is as close to a pop song as this band gets – complete with hooks and choruses – even though it contains some exploratory material (such as the vocal and bass tradeoffs in the midsection). Doran’s solo sections on this release are slightly more hard-hitting, and they recall his tough-as-nails work with Bobby Previte, Gary Thomas, and Mark Helias on Corporate Art: he integrates all the elements of his style, from huge echo-drenched loops, to ice-brittle shards of noise, to gnarly runs that lay the voodoo down (hear it all on the long closing track). Other highlights on this disc include “Written in Your Face,” whose slow-burn funk is garlanded by a host of tricky syncopations and shifting time signatures (and the confusing chorus “Tokyo is burning, but still they’re hurting” inspires Amstad to let loose with some of his most throaty hollerin’ of the date)."
-Jason Bivins, Bagatellen.