Liverpudlian saxist/ flautist Phil Hargreaves fronts a band with two bass players (Fran Bass on electric and Richard Harding on Chapman stick); the drummer is Richard Harrison, and a significant contribution is made to the Bloodcog sound by the loops, electronics and FX of Pete Smyth and Hargreaves himself. This is no better demonstrated than on the aptly entitled ‘No Human Voice’ and the first ‘Snatched by Angels’, on which the sax is buried deep in the background alongside some dextrous/ speculative bass and explorative drumming/ percussion, with a suggestion of ‘aliens’ at its conclusion. Flute is admirably deployed on ‘Morning’s Delusions’. This is all in contrast to the demonstrative opener, ‘The Ruins of Balbeck’, which opens with some wistful sax and prominent stick and bass playing before erupting into life in an increasing frenzy of activity in a more conventional experimental jazz form; the ’FX’ demarcating the uniqueness of the adopted musical idiom. ‘The Doctor and the Locksmith’ brought to my mind a chaotic fox hunt, which was not the intention. I think. The second ‘Snatched by Angels’ was congested and tumultuous which I am pretty sure was the intention! ‘A Broken Celluloid Doll’ was, in sharp contrast, mollifying, contrasting precipitously with the 3-minute maelstrom that ends the album. Nevertheless, this conjuring up of images and mood swings illustrates the impactful nature of an uncompromising musical creation, a dizzying vortex of music that is absorbing and at times bewitching.
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