Nowhere, Sideshow, Thin Air consists of three commissions by three
choreographers, each sharing, according to Frith, "a certain obsession with melodic deconstruction".[1] "Nowhere" and "Sideshow" were written by Frith for violinist
Carla Kihlstedt, and are performed by Frith, Kihlstedt and others. "Thin Air" features Frith, Hande Erdem (violin) and
Theresa Wong (cello).
In a review for
All About Jazz, John Kelman called the album a "genre-busting disc that catholically references a variety of styles, but ultimately transcends all of its sources." He noted that "even when he's being lyrical... Frith skews his music to the left of center; distinctly personal even when eminently hummable."[2]
Exposé Online's Peter Thelen praised "Thin Air," stating that although it "encompasses what is easily the most sparse and avant-garde music" of the three works, "some of the most interesting and enjoyable sounds on the disc are found herewithin."[3]
Writing for The Squid's Ear, Massimo Ricci commented: "The large majority of this album is enough to let us affirm that, in the age of polluted silence, we still need this man's unsurpassed intuitions like oxygen."[4]