12 Points 2014 hits the ground running with some big beats from the Swiss Alps. Schnellertollermeier might like to self deprecatingly refer to themselves as ‘from the backwoods’, but behind their wall of sound, there is musical sophistication at work. The guitar power trio gets a 21st century overhaul that sits at the crossroads of the European improvising tradition, and brute rock from across the Atlantic. The melodic lines come tight and fast, anchored by strong rhythmic architecture that builds to imposing thunderous peaks. It’s a further evolution of the jazz rock output of other Swiss musicians like Christy Doran, and Schnellertollermeier have an appetite for work that has so far yielded three encouraging studio albums on the Lucerne label Veto.