Thick As Thieves – Let Spin
Thick As Thieves is a declaration of principles for Let Spin. After more than a decade of history, the quartet chooses to abandon conventional structures to build an album that unfolds as a single piece in motion.
The ten compositions follow one another without interruption, generating a flow where musical motifs emerge, transform, and vanish, creating a continuous sonic narrative closer to a landscape than a collection of songs.
The album's language sits at the intersection of post-jazz, experimental rock, and free improvisation. There is a constant pulse, but it is never static: the rhythm shifts, fragments, and rebuilds itself in real-time.
The influences—from Paul Motian to Albert Ayler—are felt as starting points, but the result is entirely their own. The use of repetitive riffs, electric textures, and open structures places the record in a territory where jazz dialogues with post-rock and experimental music.
The compositional process is deeply collective. Although the pieces are individually credited, the album conveys a sense of group-think, where improvisation acts as the primary engine.
Key moments include:
- Mixed Messages: Driven by a frantic bass riff.
- Bead: Which evolves into an expansive, almost epic section.
- North Sea Swim: Where space and texture take center stage.
- Liminality: A forceful closing with echoes of the most spiritual free jazz.
The quartet consists of:
- Chris Williams – alto saxophone
- Moss Freed – guitar
- Ruth Goller – bass
- Finlay Panter – drums
Their constant interaction is the core of the album: a nearly telepathic communication that allows the music to expand without losing cohesion. Listening to Thick As Thieves from start to finish is to traverse a territory where every turn seems unexpected yet inevitable. A balance between control and chaos that defines the identity of Let Spin.
More than an exercise in style, the album is a reaffirmation: improvisation, when shared, can be a form of architecture.