Bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist Blake Mills don’t make obvious music. Instead, their collaborative work moves with a deep, unshakable pocket—even when rhythm feels elusive—and carries a harmonic language that’s as rich as it is mysterious. There is subtlety at play, but it’s not softness. It’s precision, intention, and a quiet kind of daring.

Their second instrumental album, That Wasn’t a Dream, expands on the joy of discovery that animated 2021’s Notes With Attachments. Built around the kind of deep musical chemistry that makes spontaneous composition feel effortless, it drifts between form and freedom.