Steve
Dawson has produced and played on a new album by slide
guitarist Sue
Decker. For this new album Sue has utilised
Steve’s guitar to the max and put down her own to
concentrate on her singing. She does play lap steel on
one track ‘Cheatin’ Side Of Town’ though’. She has a
voice that’s quite similar to Lucinda Williams and this
particular record sounds a bit like Lucinda backed up by
Ry Cooder. The other players are Dave Jacques – bass and
Justin Amaral – drums. Steve himself plays all the
guitar parts and as usual his playing sparkles
throughout, the album is entitled ‘Keeping Time’ and is
self released, you can find it here at www.suedecker.com,
it’s a cracking album that takes in rock, blues, country
and folk, some folks call it style.
A
new solo album by Jim
Griffin called ‘Marginalia Suburbia’ has been
twinkling away quite regularly since it arrived a few
weeks ago, he may be known to readers from his group
Zombie Picnic, he has put out a couple of albums on
Reverb Worship and also had a limited lathe cut 7” on
Fruits de Mer. Guests and collaborators have included
Jonathan Sharp from the Heartwood Institute and a dream
come true for him appearance by legendary Blue Oyster
Cult founding member Joe Bouchard. This new solo disc is
out on Australian label Ramble Records. It sees Jim all
on his own, with an album of found-sounds, field
recording s imbued with gentle, electronic
instrumentation. It is slow music of acoustic guitar
loops, birdsong, Mellotron etc, inspired by his hometown
of Limerick. For inspiration he has cited Virginia
Astley, Michael Tanner and David Colohan, all of those
will be well known to Terrascope fans, it is a lovely
album which you can find here www.ramblerecords.bandcamp.com
Rookery
Ensemble ‘Islets
Of Langerhans’. South
east London band, Rookery Ensemble have taken some time
to craft a lovely sprawling double album of note. The
band principally consisted of George Harris and Alison
O,Melia , Alison unfortunately passed away from a
terminal illness shortly after completing the five years
of sessions and meetings which went into the making of
it and her presence is felt throughout the album. The
rest of the players are Mark Hill-electronics, Erik
Moore- bass and percussion, David Rothon- Omnichord and
pedal steel, Mitzy Valentine- flute, Jessica Cahill-
hurdy gurdy and Demi Sabat Garcia- drums. It is an
expansive record of which George and Alison are at the
heart of, half of the sales generated from the
recordings will go to St Christopher’s Hospice. I must
apologise for not reviewing it earlier as it was
released a year ago but copies are still available, it
is a rewarding listen, many spoken word narrations,
bought to life by some wonderful players, where radio
effects and electronics swirl against hurdy gurdy, flute
and Omnichord. You can find it here www.rookeryensemble.bandcamp.com
V/A
‘D-Day A Grateful Dead Tribute From Krautland’. 16
songs created by a dozen bands and soloists from Germany
on the Lollipoppe Shoppe record label. This various
artists album was released at the tale end of last year
and has been played through plenty of times with plenty
of surprises along the way. Unusual arrangements of
familiar songs. The musicians involved are Blind Joe
Black & Toin Marika, Cosmic Kangaroos, Markus M.
Steinbach, Tom Liwa, Sparifankal, Wuide Wachl, Fit &
Limo, Temple Of L.I.B, Philipp Eisenblätter, The Lost
Verses and The Last Temple. Stand out tracks for me are
Fit & Limo’s recasting of Dark Star, Blind Joe Black
and |Toni Marika’s lovely cover of Ripple, The Last
Temple’s Brokedown Palace and Markus M.Steinbach with
The Lost Verses Fire On The Mountain. www.lollipoppeshoppe.bandcamp.com
Also
released a t the tale end of last year was a new solo
album from Jon
Langford & The Men Of Gwent ‘Lost On Land
& Sea’ out on Country Mile records. Joe will be
familiar to readers through his music as a founding
member of The Mekons, this is his third album for the
label and sees him going from strength to strength on a
cracking album of terrific songs which take as
inspiration some local history. Some of the themes
explored include songs of homelessness, immigration,
selkies, second hand car dealers, housewives and
exploding mines, all delivered in his own inimitable
style. The band is made up of Jon guitars and vocals
along with Matt Grey also guitars and vocals, Julian
Hayman mandolin and vocals, Mark Price bass, Barkley
McKay keyboards and Erik Stams drums and percussion. The
album was recorded in South Wales by Richard Jackson,
file under local history. You can find it at www.jonlangfordthemenofgwent.bandcamp.com.
Algis
Fediajevas
‘Po trejṷ metṷ’. Lithuanian native Algis from Vilnius is
a new name to me and this is his fourth release, on it
he sings and plays guitar, lap steel, harmonica,
recorder and percussion and is joined by Emma Reed flute
and Mark Elliott Akai sampler. It is in the tradition of
American Primitive guitarists like Robbie Basho and John
Fahey, the songs are sung in Lithuanian, opener Bgantys
Ir Sustingę is fairly labyrinthine, with plenty of
attack and decay. It’s an immersive listen, with the
guitar being the star of the show, songs underpinned by
gentle percussion and ringing creaking acoustic guitar.
It’s also firmly in the acid folk genre with songs such
as ‘Šešė liai’ and ‘kai pašukei’ inspired largely by
nature of natural surroundings, he’s well worth checking
out. You can find it here at www.resonatingwoodrecordings.bandcamp.com
Les
Big Byrd
‘Diamonds, Rhinestones and Hard Rain’ Stockholm
band
Les Big Byrd return with their fourth album released on
Chimp Limbs, they have added a new keyboard player
Christian Olsson and locked themselves away in the
remote and desolate off season environs of Sandkvie
studios to produce a cohesive album of tight
instrumentals, bar the title track. The album opens with
the ten minutes slow burn of ‘Mareld’, after such an
expansive opening song the band then follow it with the
hook laden ‘Curved Light’, my favourites on the album
are Lycka Till På Färden a great slab of molten
psychedelic rock and the lengthy closer The Night Bus
with its sleazy saxophone, twinkling piano, luminous
bass, sprinkled throughout with synths, the record is
further proof of their talent. www.lesbigbyrd.bandcamp.com
The
Rhynes
‘Everything The Wrong Way Round’ Flipron piano player
Joe Atkinson has put out a record on the Tiny Dog record
label, I’m not sure why he decided against putting it
out under his own name and not that of a band, after all
he plays nearly everything on it apart from the drums
which are by Matty Bane from The Neville Staple Band.
This is his second album as The Rhynes, It is an album
of concise, hook laden pop rock songs, often invoking a
breezy summer day, sort of Teenage fanclub meets
Wreckless Eric in feel, where jangly, chiming guitars
and infectious melodies and harmonies form the backbones
to songs such as ‘When Summer Comes’, ‘Turning Around’
and Jennifers and Anyways’. I particularly enjoyed the
title track ‘Everything The Wrong Way Round’, ‘You Don’t
Have To Be Alone Anymore’ and the closing track ‘Don’t
Make It Right’ with its pretty bar- room piano, swelling
Hammond and Dylanesque wheezing Harmonica. It’s a pretty
decent album which bodes well for the future. www.tinydog.co.uk
Tommy
Hale
‘All At Sea’ Dallas, Texas singer songwriter returns
after an eight year gap following on from his excellent
album Magnificent Bastard, Tommy is once again reunited
with Simon George Moor, Johnny O’Sullivan and Dan
Tilbury from the London based band The Snakes and has
returned to the same Wiltshire studio of Mooncalf. The
album has had a rather long gestation period because of
Covid and the loss of his Father in 2019. It’s an album
of original songs plus a couple of covers, ‘Esperanza’
by Tex Smith and ‘Radio Towers’ by Greg Vanderpool. He
does a fine job on a suite of songs that take in rock,
alt-rock and power pop,
a meeting of Texan roots based rock with English
attidude. The Snakes prove to be a great vehicle for
Tommy, fleshing out the songs with some low scuzzy
swagger, I’m reminded a times of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed
but also of the Stones. The title track ‘All At Sea’
impresses greatly as does ‘How The Story Goes’ it even
contains what could be a hit single in ‘The Cardplayer’.
www.tommyhalemusic.com
Marc
Valentine
‘Basement Sparks’ Marc’s debut album released a couple
of years ago won him plenty of fans and this second one
follows on from where ‘Future Obscure’ left off . He has
enlisted the services of Dave Draper again as producer;
he also contributes guitar, keyboards, bass and vocals.
Also playing on the record are the Snakes leader Richard
Davies on lead guitar duty, plus bass player Steve
Fielding, drummer Denly Slade, Carol Hodge adding vocals
and keyboards also Emily Ewing adds vocals. Marc was a
principal member of the Last Great Dreamers, a London
based band during the nineties and has been signed up by
Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool record label and roster
of artists, indeed I get snatches of Springsteen, albeit
one with a foot firmly in the Power Pop genre. Lyrically
the songs ruminate on solitude, science fiction, reality
and politics, indeed ‘Tyrannical Wrex’ is a great play
on T-Rex, ‘Strange Weather’ is a catchy, hook laden
blast of pop rock and ‘Eve Of Distraction’ is great, as
is ‘Skeleton Key’. He has a distinctive voice, the songs
are well written and well played, the record could do
well given enough exposure, I for one can certainly see
them being played on the radio. https://propermusic.com/marcvalentine-basementsparks
The
Lonely Bell
‘The Absent Years’ The Lonely Bell is the vehicle for
the music of Ali Murray, a Scottish musician from way up
there on the windswept Isle of Lewes. He has a new
cassette out which will also soon receive a vinyl
release, it’s on the German label Oscarson who
specialise in lathe cuts and very limited releases with
special art, the art for this was created by Katie
Griesar and I for one will be in the queue to buy one.
His music is slow, almost glacial, the feeling I get
from his music is like trying to see through fog, or as
the Scots say a Haar. I am writing this review in the
bleakest of weathers with rain lashing down, under
leaden grey skies and the music suits this kind of
weather, where distant piano and ghostly melodies gently
spool out, it is immersive stuff, music to get lost in.
Ali has been quietly releasing a series of albums and
EP’s, beginning with his eponymous release in 2015. I
won’t pick out any individual tracks but the record
flows beautifully, it is bleak but in a good way, I
suggest a visit to his Bandcamp page for further
exploration. www.thelonelybell.bandcamp.com.
Limited cassette and vinyl albums are
available from the 1st March at www.oscarson.bandcamp.com
I’ve
really been enjoying the latest release from Malcolm
MacWatt ‘Dark Harvest’. Malcolm follows his
previous album ‘Settler’ with a really strong folk album
stuffed to the gills with great storytelling, he’s not
afraid to tackle and highlight some thorny issues such
as slavery, imperialism, politics, anthrax poisoning and
climate change to name a few, The record starts with
‘Strong Is The North Wind’ a song about the need to vote
for change. ‘The Church and The Crown’ follows, it’s not
at all preachy but certainly knowing, here’s a sample
line “The nobles and bishops grow fat on their lies”.
‘Empire In Me’ is a gem of a song, on it he is joined by
Angeline Morrison, she has a beautiful voice and will be
known to Terrascope fans, as she has appeared a few
times at a couple of Terrascope events, such as Woolf
festival. The title track ‘Dark Harvest’ is excellent,
it is about a “wee dark island where the seeds of death
were sown”, this track also features vocals by Nathan
Bell. I won’t dissect each individual track but I could,
it could well be my folk album of the year and it is
only February. www.malcolmmacwatt.bandcamp.com
It
wouldn’t be Rumbles without featuring a release from the
Sound In Silence label. Two of their artists Jason
Sweeney (Sweeney, Panoptique Electrical) and Richard
Adams (Hood, The Declining Winter) joined forces,
forming Great
Panoptique Winter they first collaborated on an
album released in 2015 called “Wildness”, and have done
so again for “This Time Alone”. It’s a bit more of an
e.p really, but at thirty minutes is the length of some
albums. The two swopped files from one side of the world
to another and are yet to meet in person, but this does
not seem to have them from producing a thing of quiet
beauty. It’s post- rock synth-pop, which meets at the
crossroads of Brian Eno and David Sylvian, six tracks of
haunted, atmospheric music, which although being very
modern, harks back to the early eighties. Like all of
the labels releases it is available on limited edition,
hand numbered collectible discs with sumptuous
packaging, find it at www.soundinsilence.bandcamp.com
D.A.Meeks
‘I Am Here To Represent A Piece Of Wood’. Limited
edition Vinyl only, eachwith hand printed jackets. This
solo, acoustic, singer- songwriter folk album was
released at the tail end of 2023, on Deceitful Ear
Recordings. I know nothing about the artist, it didn’t
come with a press release or note, plus there is nothing
on the internet, however right from the first few
seconds I know that I am going to love this man’s work.
Bill Callahan (from the band Smog) immediately came to
mind. These are deep, dark unaffected songs. His
acoustic guitar playing is in service the songs and is
in the American primitive style.
The
songs ring true, inspired by nature and the elements.
They follow a strict order, much like the metronomic
ticking of a clock. 14 unadorned, naked songs, songs
bought to life by his precise words, each one dropped
into each line quite methodically, much like the great
poets do. I can’t find out much about him except the
record was recorded inside a cave in Kentucky and it
rings straight and true. This is a fairly stark record,
purely voice and acoustic guitar, with just a touch of
double tracking on the vocals, no scratch that, the only
other sounds we hear apart from him is by Lacey Guthrie,
whose voice helps summon a trio of golden snakes on
‘Brother Thomas’. Oh, and he lives alone and only eats
honey. www.dameeks.bandcamp.com
Bart
Moore ‘Wild
Flora’ Bart is a singer songwriter who is a veteran of
the San Franscisco alt rock scene, an idiosyncratic,
whimsical writer who seems to revel in subverting the
typical heart on the sleeve type singer- songwriter; he
comes across as playful and peculiar at the same time.
This is his third album, it’s self released and also
features a few guest musicians , lots of fiddles and
mandolins add flesh to the bones
of his more than rudimentary guitar, he cites Dylan and
The Pogues as inspiration and to show how current he is
name checks Billy Strings, quirky songs like ‘Heavenly
Daze’, and ‘October’, topics include railroads on ‘The
Rail Yard Ghosts’, religion on ‘God Is Just
Plain Lazy’, baseball on ‘Tuesday Afternoon At Wrigley’s
Field’, art on ‘La Paloma’ and Native Americans on
‘Comanche Land’, all in all it’s a pretty fine album. www.bartmooremusic.com
Ruth
Moody
‘Wanderer’. Founding
member of The
Wailin’ Jennys Ruth is a singer songwriter from
Manitoba who has a couple of albums under her belt and
also been on the receiving end of a couple of Juno
awards. In 2010 she decided to go solo, this album
follows a brief break to start a family and it shows she
hasn’t wasted any time, returning with another fine set
of songs. She has the voice of an angel, pitched
somewhere between Shawn Colvin and Laura Veirs and
accompanies herself on guitar also playing mellotron and
banjo. A whole slew of musicians enhance these lush,
verdant songs of quiet beauty. It has been produced by
Tucker Martine and also features guest vocals on one
track ‘The Spell of the Lilac Bloom’; standout songs for
me are ‘Seventeen’, ‘Coyotes’ and the title track
‘Wanderer’.
Ah,
time for some good old English indie now, with the
second release on Gard Du Nore from Robert Halcrow’s Picturebox
‘Mobile Disco’, think Lawrence crossed with Papernut
Cambridge. Picturebox are Robert Halcrow, Ian Button,
Ben Lockwood and Alex Williams, Jessica Nelson adds oboe
and flute. It is quite a short album of future indie
classics. Faintly glammy, scuzzy songs, which according
to the press release show traces of Syd Barrett, Blur
and The Beatles (although for me Hefner and The Kinks
would be more of a correct reference), half remembered
hymns and British TV.
It
was recorded in Canterbury, but for me does not reflect
this setting, it’s much more rooted in London and the
home counties, a couple of lively instrumentals rear
their head in ‘Lennie Godber’ and ‘Ram-Raiding With
Eunice’. We are treated to memories of our youth with
‘Dial A Disc’. Sad, lonely drivers on ‘The Car Of A Man
That Drives Alone’ and tradesmen on ‘Utility
Contractors’, standouts for me were the nostalgic
melodies of ‘Nice Boys Mobile Disco’, ‘Addendum’ and the
bonkers instrumental that is ‘Considerate Constructors’,
There is also a short narration by Stephen Evans
on ‘The Biscuit Man’. It’s available on limited CD from
Good Friday; more information can be found at www.garddunordrecords.co.uk
John
Simms ‘Light
Trails’. Should you have a hankering for some fluid,
progressive guitar in the style of say Allan Holdsworth
or Jeff Beck, then you are in luck, as a new album
by guitarist extraordinaire John Simms has just been
released. This is the second album, following on from
the first Light Trails album which we reviewed here a
few years ago. John may well be known to readers by his
first band Clear Blue Sky and has since collaborated
with many fine musicians throughout the years.
The
song titles should give some indication of the music on
offer here ‘Dreams Of The Tellurian’, ‘Rendezvous In The
Stars’ and opener ‘Trip Into The Light Fantastic’.
Maxine Martin adds her sultry vocals to a four songs,
John is also joined by David Hendry on keyboards and
synths, David also did the trippy, colourful artwork.
John’s superb guitar playing is the reason for getting
this album and he truly shines on a series of stunning
songs, which reflect the years of dedication to his
craft. It is released on Stargaze International and more
information can be found here at www.clearbluesky.co.uk
Rob
Clarke
‘Blues, Beats And Brel’. Rob returns with a new album,
after a few featuring a full band he felt it was time to
record a solo album, it’s a stripped back affair which
he says was “born on a diet of old blues records, beat
poetry and Jacques Brel accordion sandwiches as I
struggled to make sense of the world outside”. We
reviewed his last few albums which we enjoyed immensely.
For this album he plays acoustic and electric guitar,
organ, light percussion, harmonica, banjo and bass and
is joined on piano by Fran Ashcroft and accordion by Jo
Powell. It’s a charming record of well observed songs,
which for me are all the better for their fairly
unadorned accompaniments. Highlights are ‘Tik Tok’,
‘Fridge’, ‘Crusherun’, a cool, rockin’ song which I
can’t pretend to understand, the Parisian strains of
‘You Don’t Talk’, and the sparse, ramshackle closing
song ‘My Old Banjo’. www.robclarkeandthewooltones.bandcamp.com
I
will end my set of Rumbles with a few new releases on
the Fruits de Mer record label. Firstly a new recording
of a classic song by the English Kaleidoscope ‘Faintly
Blowing’ by The Chemical Set’s Dave
McLean. This is Dave’s first solo release under
his own name and is available on an 8” lathe cut in such
miniscule numbers as to have sold out before I’ve even
had time to address
it, but fear not Dave will soon be making it available
along with extra versions on a CD. It features
two versions of roughly the same length, with the second
one being more heavily phased version. Guitars lazily
ring out, Mellotron cloaks the vocals and the whole damn
thing is a shimmering, narcotic delight. The
melody played on the Mellotron is a new addition to the
original and fits in well, flashing guitars and Eastern
vibes meet classic English psych, great stuff indeed. www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
Also
out on Fruits de Mer are two new CD in their An
Introduction to series of compilations. The first one is
An Introduction
To The Honey Pot, with Crystal Jacqueline. The
Honey
Pot have been described as the West Country’s answer to
Jefferson Airplane and to be
fair that is a pretty apt description of them, like the
other discs in the series (all of which exhibit
excellent value for money) it includes some bonus tracks
only found on these compilations. Here we have a lengthy
Venice from the Honey Pot’s album The Secret, a live
version of the Airplanes White Rabbit from The Half Moon
pub and an exclusive version of a Kinks song Shangri La.
The other release is An Introduction To Anton
Barbeau which collects plenty of long out of print
material. Anton is nothing if not prolific. He
is a singular singer -songwriter, considering his
heritage of being born in America, he exudes a great
deal of Englishness, a mix of Syd Barrett, Robyn
Hitchcock and Julian Cope. This is a particularly fine
set, with a few extras thrown in to entice us. The first
of which is ‘Cellar Bar’ from his Stranger album, a
previously unreleased gem in ‘Third Eye’ and just to
gild the lily a fine song buried away on a live in
Glastonbury DVD ‘Trouble Was Born’. Scattered throughout
this album we get covers of Big Star, Bowie, Traffic and
Donovan amongst others, along with a few originals like
‘Beak’, ‘Secretion of the Wafer’ and ‘Heavy Psychedelic
Toilet’. As I said earlier these discs represent
excellent value for money and are a great way to find
all of these long out of print and unavailable
recordings. www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
Over
to Simon Lewis for a few more new releases...
Let's
start as we mean to go on with three excellent
releases from the Morctapes label beginning with “Lo
Becat” - Lise Barkat and Lisa kauffert, an
album created with two bagpipes that drone and hum
over one long 25 minute title track. As you get
dragged deeper notes begin to intertwine creating new
melodies and textures, the music both minimalist and
trance like, taking you on a journey whilst, in the
background, a lonely rhythm adds a pulse to the mix.
With its slowly changing harmonies and repeated
phrases you can't help but be reminded of the work of
Steve Reich or the more hypnotic moments of Can,
however the instruments chosen give the piece a sonic
structure all its own, one that is easy to get lost
in. Slow and beautifully haunting, the songs of
Mariska Baars creep under your skin on “ ‘♥
/ Lamb’ ”, the latest album from Soccer Commitee,
containing just five sweet tunes that slow your
heart rate and make life better. Favourites include
“Reaching” a tune with the ambience of a Japanese
garden in the rain, soft and beautiful, whilst the
longer “Imagining You in the Room”, highlights the
vocals, drifting and floating across the room in
ambient perfection. An album that is far too short and
one I could happily play on a loop for a very long
time.
Finally
on Morc Tapes, and possibly my favourite of the three
albums, we have “Eclipse Des Ocelles” the debut solo
album from Roxanne Metayer, a heady mix of
violin, field recordings, drone and melody, the violin
taking centre stage creating all manner of textures,
pulses and drones throughout the collection. Opening
track “Mille Pics” is an early highlight that leads
you into the forest with an enticing swagger before
“Plus Brume, Que Lune” leads you off the beaten track
with its atmospheric drone, whispering flutes and
vocals, kind like stepping into a fairy ring with your
eyes closed. Further in “Opalescentes Epopees” is a
ritualistic cloud of sound stretching back in time to
summon your ancestors, the album ending with the
playfulness of “Au Pas”, leading us to the edge of the
forest and sounding like it could have been recorded
by Vangelis for his “Earth” album. Hats off, as ever,
to The Morctapes label for three more excellent
albums, find them here. (
morctapes
).
Telling
the tale of Hare, his adventures and encounters,
“Valley of Stars” is a sweet and delightful album from
Ben Bedford that contains some excellent guitar
work, strong melodies and a warm heart that makes it
easy to enjoy. Opening track “Leaping” introduces our
hero in a joyful way before “Wolves” gets us going
highlighting Ben's guitar prowess as well as his fine
voice which brings the tunes alive. Sounding like a
lost seventies singer/songwriter classic,
“Murmurations” is a Hare's prayer, painting pictures
in your mind whilst “Leopard and Hare” touches on the
sadness of existence in an emotional and beautiful
way, a tune that needs to be listened to. As the hare
moves through his journey things take a darker turn
when he meets and is bitten by an Adder, then
encounter beautifully portrayed on “Adder” a slow and
darker piece, his sickness mirrored on the
instrumental “Stars and Skywheel” the guitar creating
hallucinations with various effects, reminding me of
John Martyn and taking the album into more abstract
territory for a while. After all his adventures Hare
finally reaches sanctuary as told in “In The Shelter
Of Indomitable Momma Bear” a short and twinkling
guitar piece that is warm and welcoming and the
perfect way to end the album. I have listened to this
album several times recently and it gets better every
time, a small classic. (Ben
Bedford
)
Citing
Krautrock, Psychedelia and Experimental Electronic
music as influences Manchester duo Mind Control
System Live up to their billing on
“Indenticide”, this their second collection contains
five long tracks born out of improvisation and also
use portions of music first recorded 20 years
previously, all of which makes for some fine results
with opening piece “Drones”, hitting the sweet spot
with heavy guitars, swirling atmospherics and samples
reminding me of Hawkwind on a good day and demanding
you turn the volume up. With a more ambient flavour
and heavy on the electronics, “Slaves” is dark and
atmospheric with dystopian vocals and a heavy heart,
whilst “Lurker” is sludgy and dense coming across like
a grunge inspired space rock band on a red wine
bender. Finally the ten minute “Machine Learning 4”
mixes everything that has gone before and runs with it
creating one epic voyage, up goes the volume again. (
Mind Control System
)
Next
up three albums from The Conspiracy, a UK
group, on an Australian label, based around the
songwriting talents of Duncan Pope – vocals/lyrics and
Dave Bell – guitar/tunes. First up “Harvest Festival”
features songs written between 1997-99, the music a
mix between Power-Pop, Jangle and Psychedelia, the
guitar nice and bright in the mix and the vocals very
often engaging. An early highlight is the heavy guitar
riffs of “Changes”, a tune filled with life whilst
“Andy Partridge” has a Jangly Neo-Psych feel reminding
me of Paul Roland. Elsewhere, “The Plough” has a
subtle Reggae influence and some sweet keyboard
melodies, that sweetness retained on the lovely
“Tenderhooks” a rather beautiful acoustic based tune
that could easily be a hit in another universe. Moving
on, the album “The New Zeitgeist” sees the band slip
deeper into Psych territory, sounding like a band that
would have been right at home on a Delirium Records
compilation especially on opening track “Bridie” and
the moody rumble of “Rage”, the ryhthm section keeping
the song moving as the guitar shines above. Nice and
heavy, “Vincent” deals with the life of Mr Van Gogh
without sounding false or patronising, good stuff. To
round off the album, there are two bonus track, “Epic
(into the 60's)” and “Time”, the latter opening with
swirl of synths and concerns the adventures of Ali and
her chosen doors, a spoken word tale that draws you in
with its inventive and intriguing lyrics, then
suddenly stops, an interesting way to end an album.
Finally we get to “Festivals 2000-2023” the band
embracing electronic technology as the years roll on
with “Apple Zapple” (2020) hitting the spot with
dancing sequences above the guitar and bass, the
lyrics amusing and engaging, whilst The short “70's
Ycdr” is a Glam-Punk tunes with a nod to Mud in its
lyrics. Getting the foot tapping, “We Dance”, nods to
Industrial electronics as it grinds on, foot-tapping
despite the oppressive nature of the tune. With nice
and squelchy acid sounds “Predator” could do with
extra volume as it slowly builds the tension, another
Delirium moment that sees the band expanding the
soundscapes again. After a fine and lively ska infused
cover of “I Hate You” (The Stranglers) , the album
ends with the electronic pulse frenzy of “Ambient
Disco”, Disco it maybe, ambient it is not especially
when the drums reach Thrash metal level and the power
chords kick in although the synths then claw back
control again, bringing melody back into the mix. Over
three albums there is plenty to be enjoyed, definitely
worth investigating. (metal
postcard records ).
On
the same label and also featuring Duncan Pope
-lyrics/vocals, Little Bohemia, are a straight
ahead rock and roll band, three chords and a dose of
truth as can be found on “Behind The Disney Parade” an
eleven track collection that will blow away the
cobwebs and get you leaping around the kitchen
wondering if it is too early for a beer, it isn’t! ,
favourites include, the joyful stomp of “Magnificent”,
the seventies punk riffery of “Why?” and the heavy
drum driven “Granite Club” , up goes the volume again.
To be fir there are a few lighter moments on the
album, musically at least, the acoustic led “Pandora”
being a good example, but generally the energy level
remains high and a bit of variation is often welcome.
Mixing
soft, melancholic drones with folk melodies, songs and
spoken word, “Beacons of the Wilderness”, the latest
album from Ben McElroy is a delightfully
pastoral journey that touches on loss, longing and an
ever changing world, the ambience generally sweet and
thoughtful. Opening with the title track we are greeted
with a rolling drone that is nostalgic and warm,
vocals and synths mixed with field recordings and
spoken word creating something rather wonderful that
sets the tone for what is to follow, it reminds me of
Nick Drake, a mix of strings and acoustic guitar,
topped off with a fine vocal delivery. Elsewhere on
the album “They Fall Like Rain” is a gorgeous drone,
lightened by drifting violin and Clarinet (possibly) ,
the spoken word section questioning what it will
actually take for people to notice of climate change,
birds falling from the sky perhaps! Over 8 tracks the
atmosphere of the album remains tinged with sadness
yet hope, the sounds calm and relaxed with “Bleating”
the only tune to add dissonance to proceedings.
Designed to be played live I imagine that this would
be an immersive and highly enjoyable performance. ( Music
| Ben McElroy (bandcamp.com)
).
Keeping
with the folk vibe, Nat Brookes creates new
textures and compositions from traditional tunes on
her debut album “Cormorant”, the music influenced by
classical structures creating music that is very
familiar yet also modern and captivating. Opening with
“Mushroom Vent/Cormorant” the sound has touches of
Vaughan Williams and Minimalism, the repetition of
Steve Reich applied to folk melodies both atmospheric
and emotional in its delivery. Playing Accordion and
Piano Nat is joined by Deb Chalmers – Violin/Viola,
Sam Partridge – Flute and Tom Evans- Guitar/Bass the
instruments creating drones and rhythms over 9
excellent pieces, each beautifully played and
arranged. Favourites include the delightful sprinkle
of notes and melodies that is “Nat's Groovy Tune”, the
long and deeply absorbing “The Abbey/Motorway Mazurka”
a slow and stately tune that is almost chamber music
and the closing piece “The Good Old Way/Ultra Breath”
a piece that emphasises the traditional aspects of the
album and leads you out with a merry dance. Having
listened several times I find there is much to be
explored with concentrated listening but it is also
excellent music to be played when involved in
something creative such as lino cutting or sewing. (bandcamp.com)
Yet
more folk inspired
music can be found on “The Flood” a 12 track
collection from Edinburgh based band Wayward Jane
The music reminding me of the work of Josephine
Foster mixed with Alasdair Roberts, maybe you will
agree after listening to “Edinburgh Rain” the fabulous
opening track that paints pictures, evokes memories
and just makes me smile. After the instrumental and
traditional sounding “Brokeback” ,droning violins
dancing over banjo and guitar, the band tackle “Shake
Sugaree” originally written be Elizabeth Cotton and a
tune that often crops up on albums destined to be
rumbled. Here the arrangement is bright and lively,
the banjo keeping time with the bass, getting you
moving whilst some lovely vocals add to the sweetness
of the cover. On the title track, the band really come
alive, the musicians having a good time intertwining
with each other to create an excellent piece of music
that has a complex arrangement with an emotional
centre, the track followed by the delightful song
“Down The River” the lyrics evoking landscapes in your
mind wonderfully. An album well worth a listening to
and best enjoyed with a glass of something cold by the
firelight. (bandcamp.com)
Taking
us back to Laurel Canyon, Alice Di Micele,
offers us an excellent cover tunes on “Interpretations
vol 1” including a mighty fine of version of “Old Man”
showcasing her strong and emotive vocals and a
delightful acoustic guitar sound. After a sweet and
gentle version of “Give Yourself to Love” (Kate Wolf),
things kick up a notch with a moody version of “Death
Don't Have No Mercy”
filled with some great guitar work from Dirk Price and
Nick Kirby, who also plays the drums, whilst the organ
adds atmosphere thanks to Skip Edwards, add the bass
of Rob Kohler and another strong vocal performance
and you get a magnificent bluesy rock tune that takes
you back to the early seventies. Another highlight is
the cover of ”Sugaree”, a nice, crisp production
bringing the song to life whilst backing vocals add a
soul touch to the tune. Ending where we began, we
round things off with another Neil Young cover, this
time “Harvest Moon” is dusted off, staying pretty
close to the original and sounding mighty fine. Cover
tunes are a strange thing, some you love some you just
wish they had left the damn thing alone, thankfully
this collection is well done and is perfectly suited
to a sunny afternoon. (bandcamp.com)
Next
up a couple of albums from Folk Archive Edition
beginning with “Minutes Two” a collection of 23 tunes
that all last a minute from Zeuk, each tune
containing three track/instruments two added to an
original, mostly improvised, idea. When I read about
the album I was expecting more abstract, experimental,
droning sounds, but what we have here all sound like
the beginning of actual songs, which is where the
problems lie for me. I would really like to hear the
tunes reach a more logical end rather than be time
constrained. Of course you may disagree and there is
plenty to enjoy amongst the sounds on offer. It is
definitely worth checking out, but slightly strange.
Featuring
some full length tunes “The Armchair Traveller” is a
collection of Psych tunes from Davis C W Briggs
that are slightly twisted and surreal rather than being
out and out psych, the lyrics adding to the sense
strangeness whilst the music wraps itself around your
head delightfully. Highlights include the jangly “A
Look Inside Skull” which reminds me of very early
Porcupine Tree whilst the 12 minute “That's it for the
Long One” mixes Syd Barrett with Robyn Hitchcock to
great effect, drawing you in with its repetitive
charms and some lovely guitar work. Elsewhere,
“Neighbourhood Watch” Takes the Syd Barrett
comparisons and runs with them the whole shebangtaken
home by the delightful “Are You Receiving ?” a song
that you will find yourself singing long after the
album is finished like one of those little acoustic
tunesthat Floyd liked to put on their seventies
albums. (bandcamp.com)
Released
on the aptly named Drone Rock Records, “The Unheimlich
Kingdom” is the 4th album from Cambridge
based duo Psychic Lemon and features 4 tracks
of unrelenting guitar noise and primitive rhythms.
Opening with the brilliantly named “Trepanning For
Gold” the band waste no time at all, a relentless riff
set free and allowed to stomp all over your head for
seven glorious minutes the tune becoming denser and
denser as it rides off into enternity. Opening with a
drum beat that makes you want to sing “Hey Mickey
You're So Fine” in a death metal voice, “Cognitive
Dissidents” soon becomes the bastard son of Loop and
Hawkwind, destroying your senses whilst hiding a
melody amongst the squall. Dense and cloaked in sonic
fog, it is hard to tell what is making the noise in
“National Psycho Geographic” a tune propelled by
rumbling drums and a thick slab of noise, stark and
good for your soul. Finally, and just as you were
thinking you could see light at the end of the tunnel,
the title track comes crashing in, 20 minutes of
undulating noise, this time with more variety than
previously, sparkles of light and melody twinkling
through the drones, the music taking you on a trip
around the universe locked inside a brutalist steel
spaceship dark portholes allowing only glimpses of the
outside whilst inside strong drinks are served in a
smoke wreathed bar with no clocks or exits in sight.
Best served at full volume in darkened room there is
great beauty to be found in this album, just let it
wash over you as you slide into the abyss. (bandcamp.com)
Seeing
as we are on a noise trajectory it’s time to make our
ears bleed a bit more American/Japanese band Client/Server
fill the room with slowcore riffs and spooky vocals on
their album “Hexetanz With No End” , four tracks that
slow Sabbath down to 16rpm and then run them through a
whole host of distortion pedals all topped off with
hazy female vocals and a sense of impending doom. As
Usual the longest song, “Hexentanz” is found at the
end, if I was you I would remain lying on the floor in
that darkened room and slowly slip into the abyss
again, you know it makes sense.(bandcamp.com)
Way
back in 1998 the Ptolemaic Terrascope released its 25th
issue, within the pages was a special whereby, if you
renewed your subscription you got a free CD from the
Little Wing of Refugees label. The choices were from
Space Farm, Mushroom, OHO, Necronomicon or Ballyhoo, I
went for OHO and a fine album it turned out to be,
weird guitar prog that still sounded good this morning
as I ate my toast. Where is all this leading you may
ask, well, one of the musicians in OHO,
Singer/guitarist Jay Graboski has just
released a solo album, “Authentic Fake” the collection
demonstrating that Jay has lost none of his vocal
power, the tunes containing a very similar sound to
OHO although they have lost some of the weird
psychedelic touches, happens to us all as we get
older, maybe. Personal highlights include the horn
drenched “Die Before You Die”, the strangely twinkling
yet noisy, “Mired In Malaise” and the sweetly grooving
“The Hours”. To be fair, there is no bad track on the
album and it flows beautifully. Also included on the
album is “The Dagger Chandelier” EP, an extra six
tunes that seem like a natural extension of the album
with “The Crown” being my fave from the added tunes,
Seems I am enjoying some brass at the moment. The only
problem I have with the whole thing is that I cannot
find out where you can actually buy one. There is a
dedicated OHO site and the disc is released on
OHOmusic but it doesnt seem to have a shop. Here is a
link anyway (ohomusic.com)
Filling
the room with sweet jangly Psych-Pop, Karen Zanes
gets right to the heart of the matter on “Rockets Of
Desire” the opening, and title-track from her latest
collection. With a rumbling bass at its centre the
tune sparkles and drifts propelled by a shimmering
guitar and Karen's beautiful vocals, whetting your
appetite for what is to follow. On “Cold Spring”
Mellotron sounding keys add texture to a strummed
guitar and metallic percussion, another mellow tune
that is followed by the similar sounding “Old School”
a tune that reminds me of Windy and Carl. With a more
electronic feel, “It’s So Pretty”, has a melancholic
air and a repetitive guitar riff that anchors the tune
as the vocals weave above. Stopping me in my tracks,
“Pulse” is a haunting and delightful song with
rippling guitar notes, slide guitar embellishments and
voice, sparse and worth playing several times as it is
way too short. Finally, “The Sky Belongs To The Stars”
is an acid folk tune with weird echoed vocals, organ
backing and lovely lyrics rounding off a quiet
classic. (bandcamp.com)
We
don't often review Jazz at the Terrascope, although we
do like it, however when it reminds me of Pierre
Moerlen's Gong in both structure and sound then I reckon
it is worthy of a few words at least. So welcome in The
NJE (Near Jazz Experience), “Live In London” a
three piece band featuring Mark Bedford – bass, fx,
Simon Charterton – Drums and Terry Edwards- Horns,
melodica. Opening with the relaxed groove of “Spirit
Of INDO” the band soon lock in the rhythm section
leaving plenty of space for some inventive horn
playing, whilst on “Tizita” There is a funky and
relaxed Latin feel, creating some sweet lounge jazz
rock, On “Five Years” The Melodica takes over and you
suddenly realise you are listening to an ambient,
atmospheric Bowie cover, things getting stranger as
the electronically treated “#3” takes over, some fine
bass holding it all together reminding me, strangely,
of Yargo. More great bass can be found on “Knife
Edge” which could be based on the ELP tune, hard to
tell but it does walk into Prog territory, with a
Keith Emerson audible in the horn playing. Ending with
another cover, the band turn “Voodoo Child” into a
late night, smokey delight, rounding off a very fun
and entertaining listen, even better live I would
imagine. (bandcamp.com)
Does
anyone here remember The Church, an Australian
band we used to listen to often way back in the
distant past. As tastes change, new bands emerge we
all moved one occasionally digging the albums out for
a nostalgic spin, they still sound mighty fine, but
never imaging that the band were still going strong,
but they are with the rather excellent “The
Hypnogogue” living proof to the fact. Telling the tale
of a machine that can extrct music directly from your
brain, and what it does to the protagonists in the
tale, the album is a dystopian concept album that
sound just like the band did back in the day but
updated and with a fuller sound. Main man Steve Kilbey
is still driving the band onwards and the songs are
filled with his jangly guitar riffs, distinctive
vocals, plenty of melody and inventive playing all
round. It is hard to pick individual songs as the
whole album is rather epic, in a good way, each tune
flowing into the next but the pairing of “I think I
Knew” / “Flickering Lights” is a perfect
representation of the sound and feel of the
collection. Great stuff, maybe it is time to see what
happened to some of my other early musical heroes.
When you visit the website put The Church in the
search box otherwise it is a bit of a minefield to navigate.
(Easy
Action Records )
Released
on a limited edition (53) lathe cut7”, Get up and
go/slithering (Live) are two previously unreleased
tracks from sixties legend/weirdo/visionary Tommy
Histon,whose story is told in Andy Bracken's
excellent book “Folklorist – the Tommy Histon Story”
which we reviewed last year. Recorded in the UK in
1964, the a-side is a weird folk psych tune that
reminds me of Roky Erickson, the chorus repeated over
and over throughout the song whilst primitive
percussion holds it all together. On the b-side
“Slitherin'” is a dark garage tune that squirms from
the speakers in mono delight, atmospheric and hypnotic
in equal measure. Released on the Gardener's Delight
label and already sold out. Trying to find a link to
the label is proving difficult you could try this
email for more info. putitonpromotions@gmail.com
.
Finally
from me I would like to draw your attention to GRGPNK
records. I am not sure if they are even a thing now
but their Bandcamp site contains 10 volumes of
compilations featuring some mighty fine Garage Punk
tunes with all the bands members of the garage punk
hideout social network group. I have no idea if this
exists any more either but the albums, last one
published in 2014, are a magnificent legacy to the
music found within the community, fuzzed guitar,
snotty lyrics, ghouls, vampires, lost love, revenge,
murder and just plain old madness, it is all there
somewhere just go and explore. (
GRGPNK Records)
Thanks
for those insights Simon, right that just about
wraps up another edition of Rumbles, happy trails
and hope to see you somewhere further on down the
line. Andrew.
Terrascopic
Rumbles for Spring 2024 was brought to you by Andrew
Young and Simon Lewis.
Artwork, layout & direction by Phil McMullen - ©
Terrascope Online, 2024
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