Let Spin - 2026 - I Am Alien

(50:45; Discus Music)






















Let Spin are an experimental post-jazz quartet based in London and Berlin, and this is their fifth album since coming together in  2012. Comprising guitarist Moss Freed (Union Division, Spike Orchestra), saxophonist/flautist Chris Williams (Led Bib, Sarathy Korwar), bassist and sometime singer Ruth Goller (Skylla, Melt Yourself Down) and drummer Finlay Panter (Beats & Pieces Big Band), here is a band who mix composed frameworks with improvisational outings, and a bass sound which is distorted and so heavy that it would make Chris Squire proud as it feels more like a force of nature than a musical instrument. This release finds them building on the momentum of 2022’s ‘Thick As Thieves’ and is a continuous work with each track blending into the next. 

All four musicians are credited with individual compositions (plus one by Toby Panter), each then forming a base for discovery, so much so that while some have highly rehearsed passages, such as on “Blockade”, there are others which are far freer in their approach. The highlight for me is the one song which sounds very different to the rest of the album, drummer Finlay Panter’s “If You See a Dragon, Don’t Be Scared” where a highlight are the high ethereal vocals of Goller which have been mixed so they are slightly behind the guitar yet are a hugely important part. This is what I would imagine Enya to sound like if she was into experimental music which pushed boundaries, and a full album of this style would be fascinating.

This is an album which switches between styles, rarely easy to listen to and often challenging, yet for those who are musically adventurous there is a great deal here to enjoy. 

Kev Rowland, July 2026

Links:
https://letspinband.com/
https://discus-music.org/

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