English avant-garde guitarist Michael Linden West (guitar & devices) and Colin Robinson (guitar & devices, drum machine) have both performed at the Nutclough Tavern in Hebden Bridge, a pub that is turned into a free port for geekery, loops and freak funk ambient metal about once a month. This time they decided it would be nice if they plugged in simultaneously and take it from there. Record thw whole thing and release it as a digital album: Live at The Nutclough Tavern 19th March 2016.
West and Robinson are both suckers for repetitions and since they where a duo that night they could stack layer upon layer, creating lopsided impossible structures that still manage to stand tall. As the set progresses a true connection develops. Opener Newts' Bonsoir starts to gel about halfway through and once the initial stumble blocks are of the way for a free-flowing showcase of twin guitar workouts.
Can Glove Untruth, a short sketch leads up the Not Much Luck In The Farmyard Department, a slightly creepy chill out tune with both players taking turns at jazzy prog noodling wrapped in a funky backbeat, the kind of stuff that might happen if Allan Holdsworth and Robert Fripp should decide to drop in for a pint and a stab at the instruments.
Pet peeves are always good for intriguing song titles and they deserve an A+ for coming up with Stuck Behind A Scratchcard Victim In The Co-Op Queues Again, a track that comes closest too straight rock, albeit of the Adrian Belew/Steve Wilson variety. Should a shop owner actually decide to play this during opening hours, a very noticeable change of his clientele would happen overnight and it is unlikely that he would be able to partake in the idle chit-chat about effect pedals, analog versus digital and the pros and cons of various streaming services in a world where music is hovering in virtual clouds.
Went an Robinson created a 75 minute set of improvised ambient post-funk. A true collaboration in which they take turns of throwing in new stuff as a challenge and an effort to dig deeper. Their rather weird band name, The Clog Hunt Occasional Collapsing Knitting Society, was suggested by Dave Lee, one of the regulars on the Clangroyd Facebook page, a hang-out for the various avant-garde acts in Hebden Bridge.
Live at The Nutclough Tavern 19th March 2016 is a self-released album. Buy it (pay-what-you-want) from their website.
Tracks:- Newts' Bonsoir
- Ribstone Snow
- Methanol Icicle
- Can Glove Untruth
- Not Much Luck In The Farmyard Department
- I’ve Caught My Crimson Thing (parts 1 & 2)
- Piefinger
- Wyke Riot
- The Green Mistry
- Stuck Behind A Scratchcard Victim In The Co-Op Queues Again
» Michael Linden West on Soundcloud
» Jumble Hole Clough on Facebook
HCTF review of Live at the Nutclough Tavern 23rd January 2016 (Jumble Hole Clough).
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