Jumble Hole Clough: Bela Lugosi's Dad

Colin Robinson's one-man band freak ambient avant-garde guitar loop project Jumble Hole Clough is on a roll lately. A slew of live releases is now followed by a proper new studio album, Bela Lugosi's Dad, a mixed bag of meandering instrumentals and a tracks with odd-ball vocals. Robinson's voice is a mix of Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits - the kind that will scare the shit out of impressionable children.

Finding inspiration in the dilapidated factories that can be found in his native Yorkshire, English history and his own ancestry, Bela Lugosi's Dad deals with such diverse subjects as the Cold War, the 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt (I reached into the chimney and pulled out a sewing machine (25th October 1415) and the Summer Solstice of 2016 (Abandoned Lunch Invokes State Of Nirvana). His son Liam Robinson played bass of a couple of tracks, sharing his dad's love for unusual, Dadaist rhythms.

The spontaneity of his improvised live recordings is still very much at large. Robinson doesn't overthinks his spur-of-the-moment twists and turns. And why should he? Throwing in a bit of free jazz in the freak-out rocker/dance tune Henry is still missing is actually a rather splendid idea. The slightly reworked En prélude à une entorse au poignet, a composition that saw the light of day on his Live at Northlight Art Studios, 3rd July 2016 album, sounds a but more in control - but the track refuses to obey, which is in line with the music refusing to be reigned or pigeon-holed. Jumble Hole Clough doesn't sound like anybody else, but more like a dozen or so genres having a party.

Bela Lugosi's Dad is a self-released album. Buy it (pay-what-you-want) from his website.

Tracks:

1. I reached into the chimney and pulled out a sewing machine (25th October 1415)
2. A cardboard box containing my mother's hair
3. Abandoned Lunch Invokes State Of Nirvana
4. Twilight of The Mods
5. En prélude à une entorse au poignet
6. Henry is still missing
7. Ikarus preparing to leave the Great Synagogue
8. Mother surrounded by silence
9. Neglected Crazy Golf Course
10. Rain / train / aeroplane
11. Wedding car outside a chip shop in Halifax
12. Sailing with me on the Zuider Zee

» Jumble Hole Clough on Facebook

HCTF review of Live at Northlight Art Studios, 3rd July 2016.