Completed in 2013, 'expanding' collects AcreFoot's first recordings, which blend harmonic, rhythmic, and poetic experimentation, electronic and acoustic percussion from around the world, extended techniques and tunings into a multi-faceted, yet unified sound. Based in collective improvisation, the album's selections range from loose rambles among seeming random themes (air mask, expanding) to more polished vignettes that flirt with traditional song structures (snowman, orange skin, sheets), to wholly unique forms that emerge, mutate, then deconstruct and scatter (cup of tea, hanna). 'expanding' scratches the surface to reveal the quartet's influences from the experimental edges of rock, post-rock, jazz, and new music.

Brad Dutz' expert blending of electronic and acoustic percussion, including marimba and vibraphone, and his mastery of diverse meters provides a unique rhythmic framework; Carey Fosse re-tunes, effects, extends, and re-thinks his guitar as both a solo voice and textural tool that sings, scrapes, squeals, and shimmers throughout; Kaoru Mansour's words and voice, often harmonized, sometimes wordless, contributes melodies, both lilting and strident, that serve as a touchstone to draw the listener in, while consistently moving the music forward. Darryl Tewes's basslines rumble and snake through the procedings, sometimes anchoring, other times subverting and undermining the dominant pulse, pulling the band into unexpected territory. Guest artist Jasper Dutz' nimble and incisive woodwind lines and solos underscore and comment on the music, adding melodic and textural interest, while additional words from Brenda Bynum and the late Dottie Grossman serve to enhance the poetic sensibility that underlies AcreFoot's music.