“When an unknown band or solo artist sends a CD-R with Sharpie’d names and titles on it, a critic immediately lowers expectations. Experience repeatedly prepares us to be underwhelmed by such artifacts. So when Seattle quartet Spontaneous Rex’s Come at the King CD-R arrived recently, I didn’t expect auspicious things. Thankfully, Spontaneous Rex sucker punched the skepticism right out of me. The four long, eventful songs here circulate in the higher realms of jazz fusion, prog rock, and electronic improv. If you dig the turbulence of Miles Davis’s Get Up with Itand Sonny Sharrock’s ’70s work and the elegant, complex melodies of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, and Chick Corea’s solo LPs, you’ll want to investigate Spontaneous Rex. You can hear Come at the King at spontaneousrex.bandcamp.com.”

– Dave Segal, The Stranger. “Get Pleasantly Surprised by the Careening Astro-Jazz of Spontaneous Rex.” 8/24/14
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/08/24/tonight-in-music-amanda-x-and-spontaneous-rex

“On their first release, this Seattle based instrumental quartet finds a home somewhere in the area between experimental and progressive rock, with fluid gusts of modern jazz and bursts of jagged 70s style fusion permeating the four long pieces, at times seemingly composed but with plenty of wide open spaces for blistering improvisation by the entire band. Jake Sele is the band’s keyboardist, and along with guitarist Matt Williams on the front line, the two can push out a massive wall of madness and urgency where dissonance reigns supreme and the jagged angles of wailing guitar leads and strange sounding chords find a home around every corner, though just as often they find a gentle flowing groove to operate within – although you know that won’t last long before it all hits the fan again. The rhythm section of Nick Lonien (bass) and drummer Joe Eck handle these forays between order and chaos brilliantly, knowing exactly what to lay down in order to bring it all to life. All these guys can show incredible restraint as well, with a keen understanding of when to hold back and let another player lead the way out of the forest, surging and ebbing numerous times through a typically seven-to-ten minute piece. While their style is not as slick and driving, one still might be reminded of Where Have I Known You Before era Return to Forever, electric Miles Davis, and the manic approach offered up by bands like Boud Deun. All four of the extended pieces are epics, going through numerous sections and profuse changes, their execution always interesting and they’re never short on great ideas; hardly a measure goes by without a surprise.”

–Peter Thelen, Exposè Magazine. “Spontaneous Rex – Come At The King.” 11/9/14
http://expose.org/index.php/articles/display/spontaneous-rex-come-at-the-king-3

“The first band up at Columbia City Theater was also the one with the coolest name – a Seattle based quartet of experimental jazz and avant-rock improvisers called Spontaneous Rex. Guitar, keyboards (with a long silver cape), bass, and drums come together in a very effective way to create something not unlike 70s jazz-fusion with blistering intensity, occasionally pulling back to more tasty and controlled passages where each of the members gets his opportunity to shine. Most notable were some beautiful keyboard parts (mostly using an electric piano sound) that were offered up as intros and outros to the band’s busier pieces. Much of what they did seemed more composed than improvised, or at least very thoroughly rehearsed improvisation. The band played several lengthy compositions with multiple sections, mostly material from their first full-length release, the brand new Come at the King, which is available on Bandcamp. They finished with “Spaceman Spiff,” the album’s closing piece, which features dramatic synthesizer sections and throbbing rhythms.”

Peter Thelen – Exposè Magazine. “Sunshine and Music in Seattle – SeaProg 2014 Review.” 7/9/14
http://expose.org/index.php/articles/display/seaprog-2014-three-days-of-sunshine-and-music-in-seattle-3

“This is really…great…” – Every Girl Ever