Hound Dog Taylor's Hand, "Look Up and Let Go" (Planned Obsolescence Recording & Novelty Inc.)

Now bolstered by the artfully robust trumpet playing of Greg Kelley, Seattle improv-music vets Hound Dog Taylor's Hand return with their second LP of jazz-rock thorniness. The follow-up to 2016's Hound Dog Taylor's Hand, this similarly titled record features seven roiling, riveting instrumentals and a cover of Wire's ominous "You Can't Leave Now" (off the legendary British group's 2003 album, Send). "The Vulgar Ideal" is probably HDTH's most flamboyantly rocking number ever, its exciting, stop-start torque, heavy fieriness, and Jeffery Taylor's flagrant wah-wah abuse flinging it into Stooges/Sonic Youth territory—notwithstanding Kelley's wild solo at the end. That one would be my choice for the first single.

However, the actual lead track, "Look Up and Let Go," is fantastic, too. John Seman's stealthy contrabass line sets an intriguing tone, as a stark, menacing procession commences (thanks to Mark Ostrowski's superbly disciplined beats), conjuring a spine-tingling, Lynchian uneasiness. The song gradually rustles up some elegant chaos before downshifting into a beautifully somber denouement. It's an incredible display of dynamics and tension. Check it out after the jump.

Hound Dog Taylor's Hand perform the Playback: Seattle Public Library Showcase Monday, October 28, at the Royal Room with Lori Goldston. The HDTH album release show happens Friday, November 1 at the Blue Moon Tavern.