Is it a slip of the foot pedal that gives the opening guitar line to Christian Children such a snarling, dangerous sound? Who cares. It’s wonderful. As the whole thing piledrives along the tone settles into the more usual smoother timbre but along the way, there’s some scorching, off-the-wall playing that makes this outfit such an exciting encounter. There’s an undeniable, almost relentless power to Minor Man, Thrang - complete with its Sailors/Larks II guitar coda - and Ooh Mr.Fripp. Eye Needle also has a restless mania to it that is quite irresistible with Fripp’s notes tumbling and cascading off-piste into atonal territories, morphing and free-forming against the metronomic rigidity of the band. Exceptional.
