Jumble Hole Clough: Answers on a Postcard

English avant-garde musician Colin Robinson keeps it short on Answers on a Postcard, the new album by his one-man project Jumble Hole Clough. The instrumentals are explorations of free jazz and Krautrock having a tug of war with West Coast melodies - And The Sea Did Sway sounds like a Brian Wilson demo that would freaked out Mike Love. Robinson's body of work is fiercely idiosyncratic and his ability to pursue each musical whim that comes to his mind.

The lifes of scientists and artists as well as everyday events in his hometown Hebden Bridge and household items can be sources of inspiration. He can write a song about upholstery (Wall-to-wall Moquette) and a straight-faced radio and television presenter (Nicholas Parsons Knows).

Answers on a Postcard is more melodic than its mostly ambient precursor Bassoons and Women's Coat, but there are plenty of mystery sounds and vignettes to enjoy. The meandering Afloat In Essays with the intertwining bass and guitar lines and the BBC Radiophonic workshop meets funk of Friday 13th Part 8 show his unrelenting versatility. Few musicians release more than one album on a yearly basis nowadays, but Robinson never seems to run out of ideas to pursue.

Answers on a Postcard is a self-released album. Buy it (pay-what-you-want) from his website.

Tracks:

1. I Don't Want Realism, I Want Magic
2. I've Seen Your Imaginary Friend
3. The Weavers' Riviera
4. And The Sea Did Sway
5. Low Ling Lane
6. Wall-to-wall Moquette
7. The Tired Beermat Of Ethel Scotch-egg
8. The Door Is Becoming Difficult To Shut
9. Afloat In Essays
10. Friday 13th Part 8
11. Bunk Beds Full Of Soil
12. My Can Of Oil Is Nearly Empty
13. Bathtub Existentialists
14. Zoologischer Garten
15. Mystery Shopper Assessment Of Fabric And Environment
16. Nicholas Parsons Knows
17. Answers On A Postcard
18. The Boat Has Drifted Away

» Jumble Hole Clough on Facebook

HCTF review of Bassoons and Women's Coats.