Cut is a curiously inapt title for Jon Attwood‘s latest release as yellow6. While the word suggests an abrupt end to something, the music itself conveys the long, slow evolution of guitar-based instrumental music. Nothing may be new, but on it loops, perpetually, for more than an hour.

Most of the tracks begin with simple clean guitar figures that are looped and then added to in basic counterpoint. Repetition, repetition, repetition. At its best it comes close to the suffocating, liquid melancholy of Labradford; at its least engaging it wants for interesting melodies or atmosphere. Admittedly, this album does give back a little if you persist. However, it’s hard to sustain the listener’s attention for over an hour when so little is happening. There’s no minimalist elegance or hypnotism at work here – just a modest series of instrumentals.

On his website, Attwood talks about how he lacks confidence in what he does, which comes across in the music as a lack of conviction, a lack of passion, a lack of polish. It sounds like a sketch for something more interesting; a first draft, perhaps. But on your tenth full-length, wouldn’t you aim for something more?

I don’t know – perhaps I’ve listened to too much of this stuff. Sorry, Jon.

_{Cut is available now via Boomcat or Norman Records. Better still buy direct from the artists own site. Links below.}

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