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Reviews

Let Spin — I Am Alien
(Discus Music 208CD, 2026, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-08-02

I Am Alien Cover art

For their fifth full-length release, Let Spin moves to Discus Music, which is a very reasonable fit for their music. It’s a combination of jazz, funk, and noise that blends composition and improvisation seamlessly. The personnel remains intact, as it has for more than ten years: Chris Williams (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute), Moss Freed (guitar, baritone guitar), Ruth Goller (electric bass, vocals), and Finlay Panter (drums). As a listener who grew up on progressive rock and 70s electric jazz, then got into punk rock and experimental music (did we really call it No Wave?) in the 80s, Let Spin hits a sweet spot for me. Panter’s drumming balances grooves with freedom in a way that works superbly, and Goller can be at turns funky as all get-out, thrashing like a punk, or providing jazzy counterpoint to the others, and she also contributes ethereal vocals at times. Freed is having a lot of fun with his guitar, mangling his notes with both effects devices and unconventional techniques (at least that’s what it sounds like — it can be hard to tell with guitars). Williams is a monster on the saxes, tossing off jazzy runs and punctuating them with screeches and squawks, never so far out that he loses a sense of either melody or rhythm — sometimes his function leans towards one or the other, depending on what’s going on. I’ll just say that Let Spin is one of my favorite jazz groups active right now, and I Am Alien is a fine addition to their catalog, every bit as good as Thick as Thieves.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Let Spin

More info
http://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-alien-208cd-2026

 

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