Let Spin

Let Spin is a London-Berlin based indie-jazz supergroup consisting of musicians that, as well as fronting their own projects as leader, have been vital assets in internationally acclaimed UK bands over the past two decades including Beats and Pieces, Led Bib and Melt Yourself Down. But Let Spin, now over 13 years together as a quartet, is greater than the sum of its parts. Following their 2022 release Thick as Theives comes I am Alien extending the instrumental palette to include flute, baritone sax and guitar while effects pedals play a slightly greater role in the soundscape.

On the impressively titled ‘Have a Go, Hero’ Chris Williams’ baritone saxophone’s ska/reggae-ish honks prove a thrilling contrast with Goller’s ethereal Brazilian-like vocal. ‘The Ends’ is a freer, rock-fuelled post-downtown offensive will Williams’ screeching horn in dialogue with Panter’s fractured beats, before Freed’s guitar adds slashing angular nu-metal riffage spiralling into a doomy finale off spluttering avant-thrash guitar and foggy sax sonics. The very psychedelic-y ‘If You See a Dragon, Don’t be Scared’ is an album highlight combining Freed’s Hendrix-influenced Sone Roses-ish guitar with Goller’s floaty early-Floyd-ish vocal, that for all its experimental rock influences has improv as its central driving force.

Let Spin continue to wittily illuminate the narrative with contrastingly ethereal and explosive ensemble textures, in the meantime keeping you guessing as to where composition starts and improv ends. Anchored tastefully yet diabolically by Goller and Panter’s raw, angularly spacious groove ensuring feel ensuring I am Alien always hangs together through its anarchic spill. If you too are feeling alien, this stimulating, trippy underground avant-jazz-rock group’s latest release will reassure you you’re not alone. (****) EDITOR’S CHOICE – Selwyn Harris, JAZZWISE

For their fifth release, shape-shifting post-jazz quartet Let Spin have linked up with Discus, a fitting collaboration that sees the group attempting to further their desire to meld composition and improvisation in a continuous suite of freewheeling action.

I Am Alien finds the four participants — Chris Williams on saxes and flute, Moss Freed on guitar, Ruth Goller on bass and voice and Finlay Panter on drums — each composing and bringing their particular visions to the group for extensive deconstruction.

The first notable inclusion as the album opens is Ruth’s voice, a sweet tone that accompanies her mellifluous bass circles. The sax, pointillist in its initial approach, draws further circles around the drums, tight intense whorls that drift in and out of orbit. The whip-quick playing of the four is intuitive and they step into gaps left as if it were the most natural thing.

Although the album is made up of eight pieces, the segues are subtle and the movement between moods elusive. From the speedy circles of “Have A Go, Hero” to the sluggish ugliness of “The Ends”, the group recalibrates, sax low and dirty, the bass and guitar insistent and punishing. It is a diverse, growling, angry lumber with the sax working itself into a lather as the others poke and pry.

The stop-start rhythm is so precise on “Blockade” and the tiny gaps are so tight that no light can filter through. They belie sweetness and then trip it up, the sax moving all through the register as the bass stretches and strains while the drums hop and skip. It feels as though they are testing the structural limits of the song, waiting for it to break; and if it doesn’t, they turn their back and try something new. Scuffed and scattered, the drums meander across “Father, Son, High, Line”, dragging the bass and sax with them. They play hide and seek with one another, each player having the chance to spin a web and hopefully catch the others within.

Although the angelic voice is a salve, the rhythms can become quite itchy, constantly evading the listener just as they may have figured out the direction of travel; and then all of a sudden everybody falls down the stairs, taking the listener with them. They move from this overwhelming barrage to a more elusive quality in the blink of an eye and set pastoral flute against roaring guitar which comes on like a squalling argument between two vociferous characters who will never see eye to eye, at least for this thirty seconds.

This constant evolution or revolution in the sound feels perfectly natural and the listener is drawn giddy in their wake until the final track “Stairwell” that is an ambient dream of an ending, lulling you into calmer waters after the frantic pace of the preceding tracks. Once again Let Spin show how much life there is in this post-jazz world, twisting the vaguely familiar into new and compelling shapes.

I Am Alien is s definite push on from 2022’s Thick As Thieves and offers more up with every listen. – Mr Olivetti, FREQ https://freq.org.uk/reviews/let-spin-i-am-alien/

In my opinion Let Spin is one of the most interesting groups playing in Europe today. And it’s a great live band.

My reasons for this strong claim are that their existence for 13 years has meant that they have developed a rapport which enables them to move fluidly between their compositions and improvisation. This is not a band that plays the tune and then plays a series of solos; they move spontaneously between tune and solos with each member of the group having the right to take the material in a different direction. Also, Let Spin prefer to play straight through without breaks between the different tunes, which gives their sets a momentum and a special energy. Another point is that they tend not to take individual solos, but prefer a collective approach in which a particular player may come into focus for a period before another takes over.

All these features are on display on the track, Have A Go Hero. The track begins with a funky tune with Ruth’s vocals leading initially before the other instruments come in; Chris Williams’ baritone sax briefly becomes prominent before we return to the tune, this sequence is repeated before Williams creates an atmospheric interjection on the baritone sax. We then move into collective improvisation from the four players with frequent hints at the melody of the composition before the group returns to the theme. Finlay Panter rounds it off with a drum solo.

Two new features of the group’s playing on the new album are apparent: increased use of Ruth Goller’s wordless vocals and Chris Williams’ playing of the baritone saxophone as well as alto saxophone. – Tony Dudley-Evans

A little groove, a little skronk, and sometimes a little something sounding like marbles scattered in all directions. The Let Spin quartet of saxophonist Chris Williams, bassist Ruth Goller, guitarist Moss Freed, and drummer Finlay Panter imbue their music with a relentless quality, of improvisation creating structure through sheer force of will and determination, where melodicism is merely a happy byproduct and hardly infrequent at that, though fleeting. – Bandcamp Daily

Let Spin come over as a democratically minded English jazz scene outfit formed more than a decade ago by guitarist and composer Moss Freed. Maybe there be monsters in the ego department behind the scenes. But I doubt it. The inventive band collectively smash notions of rigid expectations and all concerned have developed a distinctive sound that thrives on fiery, anarchic flow, jagged runs and occasionally an all out assault on the senses.

All this is framed within a certain off kilter discipline that is cleanly defined and expressed as if scrawled in big bold marker pen into strongly organised patterns borne of a sort of telepathic flow that vandalises and scandalises.

The band can go off piste as much as they need to beyond the notes on the page. You do get a sense of real freedom, not pretend posturing at all. Maybe I’m just projecting. Their debut album, Let Spin established the energetic interplay between guitar and saxophone at the centre of the group’s sound. Certainly it is a fairly prog and free jazz friendly approach.

If you like Led Bib and John Zorn then this may very well be your cup of tea. Reading the leaves Let Go reflected a band brimming with confidence after extensive touring. But there was and is no bluster. Freed is probably more Holdsworthian on the latest album. Other comparisons (John McLaughlin?) are available!

Achieved by osmosis or rather an active lineage to this name dropping by me – any truth to it? No idea. But you can trace that squally, intense, cry in Freed’s sound that allows a comparison up to a point with either/both in there somewhere without being too much of a fantasist. – Marlbank https://marlbank.net/2026/04/20/let-spin-i-am-alien-discus/

Here, in their 14th year together, they present their fifth album, I Am Alien (DISCUS 208CD), a post-jazz suite composed collaboratively. It opens with ‘Have A Go, Hero’ featuring Goller’s surprising vocals, which emphasize the rhythmic drive while simultaneously lending an airy lightness to the heavy baritone groove. Panter then leads into the furious roar and shredding of ‘The Ends’. Disintegrating sound leads to ‘Blockade’, which struggles over stone and stick, finding a united zigzag and smooth flow with alto and flickering strings. On ‘Father, Son, High, Line’, with its still agile alto and ethereal swirling, Goller again mixes in delicate vocalizations; ether becomes lava, becomes a rockfall. She sings of the dragon in Panter’s ‘If You See a Dragon, Don’t Be Scared’ as if it were just another unicorn, yet the guitar and the howling baritone still spit a little fire. Freed fingers its way to ‘No Filter’, fuzz meets flute in noise and brutal beats. Squealing alto rushes on to ‘Yes, I Know’, howling and twitching over thrashed, growling strings – freakish like albatrosses! The string playing then plucks gently towards ‘Stairwell’ as a farewell with a soft alto strum. – Rigobert Dittmann, BAD ALCHEMY

Let Spin is a quartet based in both London and Berlin. On their fifth album, Chris Williams (alto & baritone saxophone, flute), Moss Freed ((baritone) guitar), Ruth Goller (bass, vocals), and Finlay Panter (drums) reveal themselves as true “shapeshifters” who throw every form of tradition overboard. They usually create apocalyptic chaos, including cosmic nebulae, and let mutated creatures run around in it. A world in which Devo, Morphine, Blurt, Bohren & der Club of Gore, and even the Belgian band Le Grand Partir would feel perfectly at home. Worth discovering in advance. – Georges Tonla Briquet, JAZZ HALO https://www.jazzhalo.be/reviews/cdlpk7-reviews/various/discus-special-207208209/ 

LET SPIN, a London and Berlin-based quartet, with signatures of electronic jazz and experimental progressive music, formed in 2012 with Chris WILLIAMS on alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, and flute; Moss FREED on guitar and baritone guitar; Ruth GOLLER on bass and vocals; and Finlay PANTER on drums. In their fifth album, I AM ALIEN, LET SPIN renews the same cinematic continuity already boldly established on their fourth album, THICK AS THIEVES, in 2022. Their varied work is played continuously, eliminating the gaps between tracks. Thanks to this clean and original structure, their music glides naturally, glissandos, and is intensely experienced in the present moment, evolving
over 57 uninterrupted minutes. With a thought for the extraterrestrial musician Daevid ALLEN. The vocals, the bass, the smooth, fresh singing, and the guitar approach the opening track, “Have A Go, Hero,” with dynamism and exuberance. The saxophones dance, and there’s a drum solo, and without transition, we move on to “The Ends,” with the saxophones still present, playing in a duet with the drums, baritone guitar, and bass. Electronic effects rise, benefiting from the orchestra’s sharp, theatrical phrasing. Angular sounds renewing themselves beneath the wings of crystalline, tinting sonorities—buzzing and lingering in the third track, “Blockade,” where chopped sounds, processed through an experimental mill, meander, offering greater weight, gravity, mystery, and grandiloquent eloquence. The sounds bite into the tempo, exhaling and inhaling with their breath, as do the touches of the strings and drumsticks, and make the heart of Father, Son, High, Line beat. A line of cheerful robustness from the alto saxophones and the murmurings of the bass, baritone saxophone, and flute accompany the slow movements. The absolute celestial song is imprinted in a miracle of grace with an orchestra adorned with impressive avant-garde subtleties. The rhythmic precision, the sense of progression, the adventurous details transform the score. In “If You See A Dragon, Don’t Be Scared,” the sensitive doubled vocals are a success. Simplicity, charm, and naturalness dominate the instruments, where the bass, electric guitar, and baritone guitar shine with sounds worthy of their sumptuous timbres. The alto saxophone ignites in a symphony of baritone and bass tones. One might think one is hearing John McLaughlin’s guitar; it’s equally talented, with its sovereign and easily recognizable style. The frenetic score runs through No Filter, unity reigns supreme in its abrupt conception, biting and constantly contrasting in the intensity of the saxophones, drumsticks, guitar, bass, electronic effects, percussion which come together on the tragic accentuation of the delirious instruments of the 7th track, Yes, I Know. The wandering brass sounds disrupt the musical space, the electric guitar gradually brightens and leads to a luminous expression that touches the precision, the clarity of the performers right up to the starry finale, Stairwell. An album worthy of its renown, musically yet another treasure. (****½) – Marie MESMER, HIGHLANDS MAGAZINE 

LET’S SPIN with CHRIS WILLIAMS / MOSS FREED / RUTH GOLLER / FINLAY PANTER – I Am Alien (Discus 208CD; UK) Let’s Spin features Chris Williams on alto & bari saxes & flute, Moss Fried on guitar & baritone guitar, Ruth Goller on bass & voice and Finlay Panter on drums & percussion. Saxist Chris Williams plays sax for a British jazz/rock band called Led Bib, who have ten discs (from 2005 to 2025). Guitarist Moss Freed has played with Charlotte Keeffe and for Orchestra Entropy, both of whom have discs out on the Discus label. Italian-born, London-based bassist, Ruth Goller, has a half dozen discs out including one on International Anthem and one on Relative Pitch. British drummer, Finlay Panter, can be heard on a dozen discs, six of which are from this band, Let’s Spin. Each member of the quartet has contributed 1-4 pieces each. Things begin with “Have a Go, Hero”. This is a fine rock quartet with tight thoughtfully written pieces. The pieces here are mostly written with tight work for the el bass and drums and intricate guitar and sax playing mostly in unison lines when not taking the occasional solo. Bassist Goller is using some quirky effects (sustain, reverb) on her el bass which gives it a proglike sound, similar to Chris Squire at times. The sax and guitar are often bathed in deep, churning reverb. I haven’t listened to much contemporary progressive music in recent times so I can’t compare this band to anyone else. The music is tight, well played, thoughtfully composed and even brutal at times, perhaps forceful would be a better word. On “Blockade” the quartet locks into a tight repeating riff with shards of sax and guitar sputtering in between the written patterns. When the guitar and sax play their lines together, they often add a variety of effects to thicken up their sound. There was a period of time in the mid-1970’s when jazz/rock/fusion became stale, commercial and/or funky. A few bands escaped this problem by moving away from unnecessary showboating and working on composing more interesting music. Let’s Spin sounds like a band that succeeded in doing this. Even with just a few solos, the music remains intriguing in other ways. One of the better and pretty unpredictable bands currently playing electric jazz/rock or something similar. – Bruce Lee Gallanter, DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY NYC 

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, PROGRESSOR http://www.progressor.net/review/let_spin_2026.html