High on the Western Hill

In 2011, the plan for genre-destroying, trail-blazing punk-jazz upsetters Acoustic Ladyland was to re-emerge under the new name Silver Birch. After several years of constant touring and playing together, Pete Wareham (tenor saxophone), Chris Sharkey (guitar), Ruth Goller (bass) and Seb Rochford (drums) went to Rebel Elements studio in Wharfedale and recorded what they felt was the strongest album the band had ever made, with producer Sam Hobbs. The label at the time disagreed, the project was shelved, and Wareham soon moved on to form Melt Yourself Down.

15 years later, that “lost” album — High on the Western Hill — is finally being released by Kit Records. To mark the release, a new incarnation of Silver Birch featuring Max Hallett / Betamax (The Comet Is Coming) on drums will perform the music live for the first time.

The music captures the band at its most intense and exploratory: heavy grooves colliding with anthemic improvisation, mind-bending rhythmic virtuosity, extended song forms and euphoric saxophone lines. Rooted equally in post-punk energy, experimental rock and dynamic improvisation, the album now feels startlingly contemporary — a missing link between Acoustic Ladyland and the diverse compositional approaches that would later define the work of all four musicians.