Over the years, English avant-garde musician Colin Robinson kept it short and weird with the tracks for his one-man project Jumble Hole Clough, so does it still work when he set a bunch of tracks that go on and on for more than ten minutes each? He should not have worried. The four pieces on Up the Wooden Hills to Heckmondwike never run out of steam, as they slither through the ether like friendly monsters. It gave him an opportunity to use a few of the more arcane instruments in his collection, including a 6-string fretless bass, a saxonet and an autoharp, the latter put through a ring modulator.
Robinson's love for the nature around Hebden Bridge comes to the fore in the title track, with the promise of a get together with Calliope, the muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry. At times he acts like a storyteller, who can spin a tale that kids will love although it will scare them a bit as well, as any fairytale that it is worth its salt should do. Imagine a bunch of dwarves grooving along to The Garden of Earthly Secrets, a mashup of King Crimson and the Talking Heads barricading the door for Keith Emerson, trying to get in with his keyboards. The eerie Standing Around in the Sitting Room will appeal to anyone who got up from the couch to take care of some chores and then forgetting what it was exactly that needed to be done. It is a bit awkward, until he offers some sort of relief with a loud Zappa-esque change of pace telling the protagonist to stop worrying about boredom, the rain and other minor pet peeves.
His foray into playing the long game was a gamble, but he came out as a winner. Will he go for two side-long pieces next?
Up the Wooden Hills to Heckmondwike is a self-released album. Buy it (pay-what-you-want) from his website.
Tracks:- Afternoon in Morningside
- The Garden of Earthly Secrets
- Standing Around in the Sitting Room
- Up the Wooden Hills to Heckmondwike (Calliope is waiting…)
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