“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You have in fact been brought here under false pretenses. Outside there is a sign which says ‘Robert Fripp.’ This is not so. This is a band called The League Of Gentlemen. We are a dance band. Perhaps you’d like to dance?” And of they go with Inductive Resonance, a great wonky overture which, judging by whoops and wails that are just audible over the band, it’s going down rather well. They do rather lose their way in the number resulting in a series of misdirections as they frantically try to land on the same page. Of course, it all comes good in the end. It’s unlikely that many, if any, will have noticed at the time such is the surging energy whipped up by the band. Trap, the prototype design for Discipline nags and pulls on the consciousness like a puzzle that seems simple but is surprisingly complex when you try to crack it. That same tension underpins Christian Children Marching, Singing, here driven along by Johnny Toobad’s obsessive beats and Sara Lee’s tenacious arpeggiated runs. Away from the metrical tricks and treats, there are just some great tunes. Boy At Piano has some of Fripp’s most yearning runs, while the swooning Farewell Johnny Brill evokes the plaintive twang of early ‘60s guitar groups.The entropy-in-action that is the final version of Inductive Resonance is the sound of a band that's probably had enough for one night but realises it's going to have to do just one more number.
