Since their inception, Let Spin have doggedly defied any attempt at an accurate description of their music. This lack of compartmentalisation was obvious from their eponymous debut album (Efpi, 2014) and its follow-up records Let Go (Efpi Records, 2015) and Steal The Light (Efpi Records, 2020). But with their fourth album it becomes increasingly evident that the quartet produce an extraordinary array of indefinable music that’s both captivating and powerful.
That Let Spin are capable of such sonic iconoclasm is hardly surprising given each of the members’ additional affiliations. Guitarist Moss Freed founded the truly awe-inspiring Union Division large ensemble which debuted in 2018 at City University. Saxophonist Chris Williams is a mainstay of Led Bib, bassist Ruth Goller is a pivotal member of Melt Yourself Down and drummer Finlay Panter provides the power behind the Bits & Pieces Big Band. Crucially, Let Spin has retained all its four original members throughout its 10-year history.
The tranquil Ayleresque meanderings of the segued When I Look Up and Ether, featuring the guitar and alto tracing each other’s melodies, give way to the collective improvisation of Red, which characterises the deliberate methodology the band adopted in a two-day studio session. Waveform Guru contains all the dynamism of a King Crimson composition but minus the rock formality.
Mixed Messages develops the merging of rock and jazz even further with Goller’s urgent bass guitar and Panter’s tight drums underpinning the track whilst Williams and Freed bounce echoey lines around until another segue into the floaty Theremin Gong Bath. The repeated hypnotic vamp towards the end of Bead is dramatically juxtaposed with the anthemic Liminality which grabs the attention instantly and doesn’t let go. It’s therefore unsurprising that it was released as a single.
Pertinently, a dictionary definition of “thick as thieves” states “very close or friendly; sharing secrets” which is precisely the stage at which Let Spin is now.
Discography
When I Look Up; Ether; Red; Waveform Guru; Broken, I Told You!; North Sea Swim; Mixed Messages; Theremin Gong Bath; Bead; Liminality (51.00)
Chris Williams (as); Moss Freed (elg, baritone elg); Ruth Goller (elb); Finlay Panter (d). London, 29/30 September, 2021.
Efpi Records FP043
