Haskett, Chris: Insufficient Necessities

David Bowie and Henry Rollins may seem odd bedfellows in a musician’s resume and yet for guitarist Chris Haskett that breadth of style and attack is nothing short of a deadly weapon to wield. With his eclecticism eagerly on show through those previous dalliances, the six-string man has for the last 25 years or so also been cutting out his own solo path, with his latest, rather short, EP being presented under the conundrum Insufficient Necessities.

“Dodge ‘Em� slides the jalopy out onto the road, gears smoothly slid through as groove and grind become integral to the journey. Being an instrumental sojourn it’s Haskett’s own axe meanderings that signpost the direction as they take on both the base building and the decorative embellishing. “Ivy City� digs further into the same rich seam of themes as it marries some intricate fret-play with beats that hum and thrum their way deep into the riff box. Jeff Beck at times can be seen as a guiding light for this approach, a more fusion-like juxtaposition bestowed upon “Hoof-Deee!� but with the guitar lines still growling, as it is elsewhere, it’s often Clutch that springs to mind, just not with the same stomping, stamping authority.

It’s left to “Going Back� to round things out, cowbells clitter-clatter-clanging their approval as a deep set twang and roll of sticks on snare take us on the most purposefully languid march you’ll ever be sergeant majored through. Undoubtedly it makes for an engaging meander and yet it has to be said that the stick in the mind tally here never quite clicks high enough and while you can’t help but throw all manner of inappropriate shapes as this neat little EP tells its story, neither will you be regaling others about its inner excitement once those tales have been concluded.

Track Listing
1. Dodge ‘Em
2. Ivy City
3. Hoof-Deee!
4. Going Back

Added: March 13th 2020
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Insufficient Necessities on bandcamp
Hits: 784
Language: english

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