Some extremely sad news chanced upon just as I’d finished listening to Sir Richard Bishop’s superlative debut LP “Improvika” for the first time in too long:

Charles Gocher R.I.P.

Everyone needs to have at least one Sun City Girls album in their collection; it’s a real shame there’ll be no more added to the millions you can already choose from. A chapter closes on a wholly singular band.

It had its good points amongst all the crap, didn’t it?

MUSIC
This Heat – their boxset finally came out, and it’s better than anything else you’ve ever heard.
Rob Lee/Wax Stag – http://www.myspace.com/waxstag
The Beloved Music by Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano
Crescent by John Coltrane
10th Avenue Freakout by Fog. I know I’m late.
Super Golden Original Movement by Golden
Mother of Thousands by MV, EE & the Bummer Road
Racoo-oo-oon
Busdriver
The Dead C
Led Zep
AC/DC
50 LPs for a quid down t’market.
The resurrection of Siltbreeze

LIVE
Trencher & Kraufort @ The Social (Jan)
Part Chimp, Hey Colossus, Lords @ Cabaret (Jan)
Jack Rose & Chris Corsano @ Raffles (Jan)
Earth & Sunn0))) @ The Custard Factory (Feb)
The Evens @ Sneinton Hermitage (Mar)
Thee More Shallows @ The Social (Apr)
Burning Star Core @ The Old Angel (Apr)
Smegma @ The Old Angel (Apr)
Magik Markers @ The Matilda (May)
Subtle @ Coventry Colosseum (Jun)
Charalambides @ Bunkers Hill (Jul)
Alasdair Roberts @ The Maze (Aug)
Steve Reich, Konono #1, Gavin Bryars @ The Barbican (Oct)
Erase Errata @ The Rose of England (Oct)
No Neck Blues Band @ Taylor John’s House (Dec)

FILM
The New World pissed all over every other film released in 2006 from a very great height. Actually, it pissed all over every pretty much American film released since Terence Malick’s last effort (The Thin Red Line in 1997). The only reason I can think that it didn’t get into the diskant poll was because no one saw it – it slipped in and out of UK cinemas with alarming speed, and predictably has made fuck-all money. You can now buy it on DVD for about six quid. I recommend you do so.
Also, the Harvey Milk DVD.

BOOKS
The Road by Cormac McCarthy – not only his best book for 20-odd years, but so much better than any other book I read this year.
How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers
JPod by Douglas Coupland
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Mysteries of Pittsburgh & Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
Buying loads of second copies of books I already have in charity shops to thrust upon friends and insist they read them.

MAGS
I get more depressed at music journalism with every passing year – I don’t think I’ve bought a magazine in a good 3 years now. I did however finally chance across a copy of Simon Reynolds’ Blissed Out in a secondhand shop, which is always worth a dip.

EVENT OF THE YEAR
Finishing mixing the new Souvaris album after 3 months of sitting in a bedroom in front of a laptop, slowly going insane.

THINGS YOU DID MOST THIS YEAR
Waited at stations for trains that were either chronically delayed or cancelled. I’m biting the bullet and buying a car in 2007.
Complained how tired I was.

PLACES VISITED
Scotland’s southwestern coastline
The Lake District
Yorkshire
The Dales of Derbyshire
Sheffield
Taylor John’s House in Coventry

BEST THING
Love.
Rediscovering meat and how to cook it.
Rediscovering that decent electronic music is being made all over the world.

WORST THING
No time for love, Doctor Jones
So many boring noise/improv bands.
Labels and bands overkilling on the amount of stuff they put out that all sounds exactly the same. Again.
The Next Big Thing in music and bands covered by the mass media just seem to get worse and worse.

OVERALL
At some point I’m gonna catch up on all the sleep I missed out on. Maybe in 2008.

LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2007
A much-needed holiday. In the autumn.

This 7″ has been out for a month now, so apologies for the tardiness of the review. I can give you a one-line review though:

ANOTHER WINNER FROM A FANTASTIC LITTLE LABEL. HOORAY!

Run of the Mill don’t release a lot of records, but their series of 7″s (and a CD by Quack Quack!) have been uniformly excellent. They are always satisfyingly weighty, beautifully packaged and, most importantly, the music is *always* interesting and entertaining. And this one is just as good as the others!

Man Aubergine are a brand new band to come out of Londinium and this is their debut release. A predominantly guitar/bass/drums trio that excel in breezy harmonies and quirky lyrical themes, this 7″ contains a song per side and works fantastically well as a showcase for their bubbling promise. Drummer/occasional banjo player Steve Blake apparently has a history in the local American Old Time music scene down there, and this influence is the primary drive behind Man Aubergine’s music. Ably flanked by guitarist Will Saunders and bassist Richard Gledhill, Blake leads the trio down a mazy path of old timey music infused with a wonderfully perverse sense of humour. It’s an endearing and wholly successful combination, and the performances are incredibly assured and relaxed for such a new band, which just makes the music more welcoming. It’s all great stuff.

Both songs on the 7″ are short and sweet, getting to the point and ensuring that some wonderfully breezy melodies and harmonies get firmly embedded in your head before stopping. After flipping over and playing through both sides you’ll find yourself thinking that it’s awfully short. In actual fact, it’s a perfect length: you’ll keep coming back to this 7″, and I, for one, am eagerly anticipating future releases from both Man Aubergine and Run Of The Mill. GO TEAM!

P.S. You can hear both sides of the 7″ and two new songs at Man Aubergine’s Myspace site: www.myspace.com/manaubergine

www.runofthemillrecords.co.uk

Brand new Birmingham-based label 3 Pin Recordings offer up a CD compilation limited to 300 deluxe copies, coming in a printed cloth bad and housed in a trigger case with a 16 page booklet. Don’t ask me what a trigger case is because my review came in a slipcase. Ooh, there’s some CDROM content in the form of a video and some artist information too.

So who’s on it? Alongside a lot of newcomers there includes contributions from Dragon or Emperor (members of Volcano the Bear & Songs of Norway), Revox (of the Modified toy Orchestra), Daniel Padden (of his One Ensemble and VtB again) and the excellently-named Reverend Man Manly (of The Church of Noise). If you’ve heard any of these artists before you might have an inkling of what to expect from this compilation; lots of eclectic, experimental weird joy by a huge variety of performers.

Some highlights then for the uninitiated: Dragon or Emperor do an uncanny impression of The Jesus Lizard if they were armed only with bass and drums; a stunning track from Revox entirely sculpted out of interviews with talking heads; Daniel Padden’s beautiful solo piano track named after the prime chimp of Planet of the Apes; a bizarre deconstruction of a Beatles song by Jliat in homage to Steve Reich; two tracks by some guy called dead western who describes his music as “operatic folk”. Then there’s some really weird shit courtesy of CJ Pizarro; a beautifully haunting voice/synth textural piece by Sara Ayers; some excellent theoretical TV programme soundtracking by Sitcom Future Family; and a final cherry on top of this bizarre mess in the form of a hip hop track entitled “Terminally Ill” by Terms None and his mate The Mole. Class.

Add to all this by throwing in some bizarre spoken-word passages and samples interspersing the tracks just to disorientate the listener, and you’ve got a winningly confusing listen all round. This has been out for a couple of months now (yes, I am useless at doing reviews on time. Sorry), and is pretty damned limited so go! Go now! Go! Buy buy buy if your tastebuds are whetted. They certainly should be.

www.3pinrecordings.com

Remote Sound are a young band from the sunny Falkland Islands, led by songwriter Alastair Jackson and ably assisted by friends Sara, Tristan, Neil an Phil. This is a re-release of their debut CD, which sold out of its original run of 200 copies since February. This time around there’s a bonus track added on for extra value. The whole thing was recorded for less than £70 and Remote Sound have got to be applauded for their enthusiastic approach to DIY, especially as they apparently live in the back of beyond where there’s barely any outlets for music.

The production’s impressive considering how cheaply they recorded it. But what does the music sound like? Basically they’re straight-up indie rock, playing someone’s heartfelt songs written when they really should be studying for their A-Levels. It’s hard to criticise the band or their approach given their circumstances and youth, but their music could be plucked out of any number of anyone’s bedroom band from their teenage years. It’s not a bad first effort at all from someone so young; I’d just be more interested in where they’ve got to a few years down the line and have matured musically somewhat.

But then what do I know? I’m a jaded fool who likes nothing more than random ramshackle noise and drone recorded onto a broken dictaphone. This music is much “straighter” than anything I can muster enthusiasm for these days. You should really check out the band for yourself:

www.remotesound.co.uk

About two years ago I was persuaded to buy a 7″ rekkid split between two bands: the Lords of Nottingham and the Hey Colossus of Londonshire. Having witnessed both bands live but heard little recorded matter, I thought it could be a promising little number, especially as it was a debut by a new label to boot. Turns out that that 7″ was the best piece of 7″-sized wax I heard in ’04 by some distance, and it still gets regular spins on my turntable. Did I mention that the 7″ was insanely heavy and distinctly turd-coloured? I loved that 7″ and waited with baited breath for what Theory of Nothing Records (for they woz th’ label) would deign to release next.

Wind on to May of this year: I’d pretty much forgotten about Theory of Nothing, even though I probably haven’t bought a better 7″ since the Lords/Hey Colossus opus (restocked copies now available folks). Then! Out of the blue! I get asked to review the long-awaited second 7″ on Theory of Nothing – a split between the venerated and recently-reformed Billy Mahonie and Derby’s own fine young princes of post-math-pop-core, The Jesus Years. Get in! I said.

So, 9 years since their formation and a couple since everyone thought they’d split, Billy Mahonie make a triumphant comeback with their original line-up (despite the fact that Gavin apparently lives in Oslo). Their side is a track called “New Year’s Eve Song”, featuring the classic BM staples of twin throbbing basses, some deceptively sharp drum beauty and laser-like guitar playing combining to create another engaging, emotive and most importantly ROCKIN mathy/rocky genius. Even if the initial bassline sounds like a sped-up version of their signature song “Dusseldorf”. If you’ve ever enthused about Billy Mahonie in the past, this will be a proper treat of going right back to what you know. If you’ve not heard Billy Mahonie, you’ve been missing out and this is an excellent introduction. Billy Mahonie have always been a fine wine, best served cool and going down easy. This is like rediscovering a bottle that you thought you’d run out of years ago. Welcome back boys.

Facing up to matching this are The Jesus Years, a band I’ve managed to miss seeing at at least 3 gigs, despite living in the city next door to Derby. This was my first time listening to them, and they certainly impress with their skills to craft a canny pop song out of some classic math-rock moves. Their track, “Tom Seabourne PhD”, starts up like a ‘proper’ American emo band from the early ’90s; all crashing melodic guitar chords breaking down to nice jangly picked bits with slyly showy drums increasingly filling everything out until the song reaches the halfway point and it all erupts and gets suitably anthemic. It’s about this point you start wondering whether the Jesus Years really should go the whole hog and get themselves a singer and actually wear the ‘post-emo’ hat with pride. This is perhaps slightly cruel though, as they certainly have a knack for memorable guitar melodies and chunky rhythms that are satisfying like your favourite chocolate bar. Tasty, if occasionally slightly too sugary to be good for you every day.

All in all, another engaging and entertaining release from Theory of Nothing. The sleeve design is also really nice, and the vinyl is once again heavy enough to double up as an offensive weapon and it’s a beautiful translucent yellow this time. Much better than shit coloured. Excellent stuff, all. So what’s next?

www.theoryofnowt.blogspot.com
www.billymahonie.com
www.thejesusyears.co.uk

Okay, okay, I never have time write on this thing any more, and reviews get written about once a century with the free time I’m afforded these days. So I figured I’d rip off Joe’s post from last month and cut ‘n’ paste a bunch’f very short synopses about records that have been getting at my goat (in a good way) in the last couple of months. These were mostly scribbled at whilst poring over some boring spreadsheet at work, so apologies for any incoherence involved. There’ve been some goodies so far this year though…

Corrupted – “Llenandose des Gusanos” 2xCD (HG Fact)
Whatta band. For the uninitiated, Corrupted are a Japanese sludge/doom metal band who sing in Spanish for no discernable reason. Oh yeah; they’re quite possibly the slowest, heaviest band in existence. What’s more: this album may be their finest hour. Slower, grimmer, more dramatic and soul-sapping than anything else I’ve ever encountered. In short: fucking amazing.

Anton Batagov -“The Wheel of the Law” 3xCD (Listen Different)
A huge slab o’ work by this young Russian modernist pianist & composer. I can’t find out much info on him but I think he previously collaborated with Morton Feldman. Nice. This is an extremely minimal set of pieces performed by just three or four instruments – organ, glockenspiel, xylophone, piano and sometimes percussion all stick their heads up at various times. Apparently this work is based around the Buddhist quest for nirvana, and it’s certainly beautifully beguiling and wonderfully paced music that slowly lulls you into calm and meditation. I’m still getting to grips with the less lush and more ‘difficult’ middle piece, but the first and last movements are jawdroppingly good.

Liars – “Drum’s Not Dead” (Mute)
Good to have the Liars back and confounded some expectations after “…We Drowned” got so pilloried. This one seems to have received a much warmer reception, and is definitely a lot more straight-forward whilst retaining some of the last album’s ‘out-there’ spirit. Nice DVD with three visual interpretations of the album included too. For some reason, I still I think I kinda prefer “..Drowned”.

Flower Travellin’ Band – “Satori” (Radioactive – reissue)
A weird one: ’70s psych-riffing madness from Japan, apparently influenced in equal measures by Sabbath, Deep Purple and Can (well, their singer’s as out of control as Damo Suzuki anyhow). Dunno if it’s hippy-swinging fun or just bullshit right now. I think I gotta be in the right mood. Hasn’t happened yet, but you never know.

Andrew Chalk – “Blues Eyes of the March” & “Shadows from the Album Skies” (both on Faraway Press)
Now these are the fucking bollocks. Andrew Chalk has been making elegiac drone music from murky depths for years now, but these last couple of releases really hit the spot for me. Gorgeously vague shimmerings by instruments rendered almost unidentifiable by the extent of gauzy treatment smeared all over them. For me, this is as close to perfection as I could dream of. Sumptuous packaging on the man’s own label too, adding to the luxuriant atmosphere throughout. Best listened to whilst lying down on a hot day, bathing in the sunshine. You might need to wait until June for this to actually occur, given recent conditions.

AFX – “Chosen Lords” (Rephlex)
The Aphex Twin bounces back six years after a lot of people got confused/disappointed by “Druqks”. A return to analogue wibbling and more straightforward drum-machine manipulation, this collection of selected tracks from his recent flabbergasting run of “Analord” 12″s should be more than enough to restore any doubting Thomas’ faith in Richard D. James’ huge melodic and inventive programming talents. A real crowd-pleaser of a comeback that is as reassuring as it is just plain enjoyable to listen to. Even if (or because?) it all sounds like it could have come out at any time in the last 15 years.

V/A – “The Invisible Pyramid” 6xCD (Last Visible Dog)
A staggeringly thorough compilation of pretty much all the major contributors to the last few years of the burgeoning “freak”/”lo-fi drone”/”ambient”/”etc”/”whatever the fuck you want to call it ‘cus I can’t be bothered” movement, giving us gems by such established gods as Vibracathedral Orchestra, Birchville Cat Motel, My Cat Is An Alien, Charalambides, and even Bardo Pond; but also introducing us to a ton of people you’ve never heard of, whose contributions sometimes outweigh the usual contenders – check With Throats As Fine As Needles, Area C, Matt De Gennaro (okay, he’s actually pretty established but I’d never heard him before), Alligator Crystal Moth, etc. There’re seven and half hours of music to be found here, so needless to say I’ve barely scratched the surface of this sucker, despite getting it last year. I’ve got a feeling it’s gonna sit in my LISTEN TO THIS SHIT pile by my stereo for a good while longer yet. Essential listening if you’ve got any interest in drone elegy or any of the artists currently operating near the fringes of musical exploration.

Seht – “Federacy Boot” (PseudoArcana)
Seht is one increasingly prolific man from New Zealand called Stephen Clover, who specialises in tweaked-out dronescapes and experiments in layers of manipulated and time-stretched sounds. This is one of his latest, and as good as any of Clover’s others. My personal favourite so far is the church organ-driven pileup of “Nova Bonalbo” that came out on musicyourmindwillloveyou a month or two back, but this one’s just as worth tracking down. He’s also on the Invisible Pyramid box.

Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano – “The Beloved Music” (Family Vineyard)
Three heart-stoppin’ sax/drums free jazz workouts here, recorded live in all their gut-bustin’ glory. Two modern jazz deities playing together at their best: Flaherty’s a master of his instrument, and if you haven’t had the opportunity to see Chris Corsano drum in one of the myriad of projects he’s embarked upon since moving to Manchester last year, I suggest you do so as soon as possible. There is some real joyful hammering going on here, and it’s just as good as their last one together, “Last Eyes”.

Steve Baczkowski, Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano – “The Dim Bulb” (Wet Paint)
Flaherty and Corsano are joined by a baritone sax blower here, with Flaherty switching between tenor and alto sax as complement. This one is wilder and maybe harder to get to grips with as there’s so much going on. Still gloriously headswimming music though; well worth checking out if you’ve heard and enjoyed any of these fuckers’ other stuff. The last track’s almost half an hour long and will bust your skull open with gamma-ray intensity if you’re not careful. On Flaherty’s own label to boot.

Steve Baczkowski & Ravi Padmanabha – “Tongue Rust & Lead Moth” (Utech)
Here is Baczkowski collaborating with a fascinating drum/tabla player who takes a far less cacophonic and pounding approach than Corsano; instead taking the opportunity to explore gentler/abstract territories, whilst still finding time to rip shit up now and again. Whilst the two releases above mostly deal with 10-15 minute blowouts, this CD features far more concise and exploratory affairs. Perfect for when “The Beloved Music” has been blowing your brains out through your ears just a little too hard recently.

V/A – “Sound Surrounds Us” Vol.3 (musicyourmindwillloveyou)
Latest volume from an excellent underground label that collects disparate bedroom-based dronologists and freak-folk, uh, freaks and sticks them together to show beauteous harmony resonates around the world. 4 long-form pieces on display here, featuring the latest great white hopes of New Zealand-based oddness, the Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood (two siblings make spontaneous and really rather pretty murkscapes); the UK’s own promising ambient conquistadors, Rameses III (who have previously trod a thin line between prettiness and cheese but do a lovely 20-minute slab of groaning beauty here); some new crazed Finnish kids on the block called ffehro (more drug-crazed rituals in thick forests of broken instruments); and finally Foxy Digitalis honcho Brad Wood turning up in what might be his most musically aggressive outfit yet as part of Ajilvsga (just plain fucken wierd).

Dinosaur Jr – “Where You Been?” (Blanco Y Negro)
Okay, this is far from new or even recent, but my Dinosaur knowledge is potted at best and I saw this old ‘un on my flatmate’s shelf, so I had to nab it for a few spins and an update. Some amazing Mascis blowouts/solos on here, hoppin’ that fine line between cheese-fest and fuckin’ ROCKIN’ out. The best thing about this album is definitely the falsetto backing vocals though – so fricken sweet.

Jesu – “Silver” EP (Hydrahead)
In some ways this is a real turn-up for the books; in others it’s still the genius of Justin K. Broadrick enduring as he explores new pastures. The same huge downer grind of the first Jesu album remains, but the first two tracks on this EP will shock you with the amount of melody and unprocessed, actually sung vocals. The second track, ‘Star’, is even pretty fast, and almost sounds like mid-’90s post-hardcore straight outta the better output of Jawbreaker or something of that ilk. Except with supremely heavy guitars lathered all over it, of course. Christ, this is almost pop music. Whatever the case, it deserves to spend all summer at number one, with Broadrick’s guitar amps flattening the Top Of The Pops studio audience week-in, week-out. Really, really fucking good – if you’ve had any interest in Godflesh/Jesu/Broadrick in the past, you HAVE to hear this.

Moss – “Cthonic Rites” (Aurora Borealis)
I’ve never encountered a band’s self-description that’s quite so apt: “Nihilistic Extreme Doom”. Massively downtuned, bowel-scrapingly slow guitar and drums back some unearthly shrieked vokills for two songs in the space of about an hour. Impressively heavy considering they don’t have a bassist, and probably the most depressing record I’ve ever heard: really sucks the life out of you. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends entirely on your attitude.

James Blackshaw – “O True Believers” (Important)
Blackshaw’s only been around a short while, but with every release he’s been getting more and more impressive. This could be considered to be his first ‘proper’ CD album, and yet again it’s a winner. Blissed-out 12-string guitar ragas extend their tendrils into your soul and bathe it in light, with each of James’ dextrous fingers plucking your heart’s chords until you reach ecstasy. Well, something like that anyway. If you’ve been hearing about or digging folks like Jack Rose or Six Organs of Admittance, this guy is the one you should hear. [Plug alert:] Conveniently, James is playing the Oats & Groats Festival in a gorgeous country park Leeds this July, which sounds like extremely salubrious conditions in which to experience him. Check out www.oatsandgroats.co.uk.

Jonathan Coleclough & Lethe – “Long Heat” (ICR)
Coleclough is king of drone texture/manipulation if you ask me – previous work such as “Period” and “Beech for John and Miho” are evidence of such – and this is his latest collaboration, recording and processing some cavernous reverberations of Lethe working with pieces of metal in a huge room. The album proper is a surprisingly dramatic work, sporting ominously deep drones and some unexpected shifts and stops in sound that will shock anyone used to nodding out to previous Coleclough zen-like hymns. The second CD included with the limited ‘special edition’ is far more serene however, and I think I actually prefer it for that.

Steven R. Smith – “Kohl” (Emperor Jones – reissue)
Smith might be better known as part of the Jewelled Anter collective; or a member of the fantastic nature-driven droners Thuja; or by his Hala Strana project of reinterpreting old Eastern European folk songs; or possibly by his old rollickin’ psych-rock band Mirza. He’s also done a boatload of solo recordings down the years, usually in stupidly limited numbers. Thankfully, Emperor Jones have followed up their release of the third(?) Thuja album a couple of years back by making one of Smith’s most celebrated releases available for the masses outside the CDR fanclub; and boy, is it a doozy.

I find it difficult to describe Smith’s music to any satisfaction because I find his playing so evocative and affecting. When he plays under his own name it almost always is him playing an instrument solo – usually a guitar that may or may not be affected with distortion and/or delay, and always with a patience and lyrical style that immediately draw you in. Though he may not be as flashy or have the chops of someone like Rose or Chasny, I find myself far more emotionally involved with Smith’s carefully-chosen sparse pluckings, and this is sublime stuff. Oh yeah, Smith pops up on that fiendish Invisible Pyramid box too. The Bastid.

Sonny Sharrock – “Black Woman” (Four Men With Beards – reissue)
If you ever get the chance, ask Chris to tell you all about how amazing this album is. Awe-inspiring guitar-driven free jazz with some startling vocals by Sonny’s then-wife Linda, it really needs to be heard to be believed. Sometimes I think it’s a bit of a shambling mess; others I think it’s one of the greatest records ever made. The second half especially is flabbergasting, containing my favouritest bit of solo guitar playing in Sharrock’s signature tune ‘Blind Willie’, and the triumphant storming of heaven in the closer “Portrait of Linda in Three Colours, All Black”. You must hear this record, which has thankfully reissued onto some satisfyingly heavy vinyl with liner notes by Byron Coley. Get it.

Magik Markers – “For Sada Jane” (Textile)
Got this newest splurge from the Markers last week, and it’ll bewilder whether you’ve heard previous efforts or not. It’s still great stuff – four murky K-holed hymns of alienation, only one of which is performed by the “classic” line-up of Elisa, Leah and Pete. Numerous guests abound, and two songs are even acoustic ferchrissakes! Less Confusion Is Sex and more super-damaged outsider folk, I’m told. Pretty danged awesome though.

Stuckometer/Milk Teeth – split c30 (Hearing Aid)
Brand new and some hot fucking shit from two outfits currently laying waste to ears all over Manchester, which was never lucky enough to have such excitement when I lived there. Stuckometer have been going since last year and rip out a furiously insistent jam of heavy-hitting clattering drums, heaving bass and two splattering dischordant guitars going batshit on their side – if you’d seen them do this live you would’ve sworn they piss all over any other “free improv” (or “post-lightning bolt”, as I once saw them described) rock bands you might’ve seen in the last year. Really inspired/chaotic shit. Milk Teeth are a collaboration between Barry of Stuckometer and Smear Campaign (aka Stuart) doing some really fierce power electronics experimentation that comes across like a hot poker caressing your spine. I was really impressed by how harsh these fuckers are. Great stuff, and the spray-painted cassette comes in a hand-stitched denim sleeve to boot. Viva le Manchester renaissance!

A few short months since our review of Quack Quack’s debut mini-album/EP (hey, it’s five tracks and 25 minutes long. You call it what you want), and here comes two more songs on yet another excellent release on the consistently fine Run of the Mill Records label.

Seeing as this is a double-A side single, I whacked on the 45rpm “The Great Catsby” side. Initially propelled by a dinky casio keyboard drum machine and some wonderfully slinky percussion, this song is founded upon some real carney-sounding keyboards worthy of your favourite silent comedy stars falling about a screen at your local cinemahouse, playing one of those melodies that you swear you’ve heard before, but know you’ll never manage to get out of your head. From these beginnings, the introduction of some joyfully bouncy bass powers the song into full speed ahead with some fantastically sweet drummage action. Crammed full to the brim with joi de vivre and beautifully to the point, this track is a winner.

Flip the wax over and “Mars” plays at 33rpm. It also happens to be possibly the peachiest track I’ve heard yet from these cats. For some sections of this song erstwhile keyboardist Moz sticks down some keys to get some hot droning action and clambers behind his own kit for some dual-drum lovin’ on this one. Taking on a slightly darker and more percussive guise for this track suits Quack Quack well, as they take the extra time afforded by the 33rpm format to do a little more exploring of their textures and rhythms in between the sweetsweet interaction of keyboard and bass melodies and of course the hothot drums. Watching these fellas perform this sucker live in the flesh a couple of weeks ago was the highlight of my night, and I’d recommend the experience to anyone. Similarly, if you’ve any interest in some sublime instrumental music made by three fellas from Leeds, you need this slice of cheer-inducing genius.

www.runofthemillrecords.com

Tying in amazing well with our recently-published DIY guide for bands looking for gigs, once again we receive joyous news via the rapturous medium of Myspace.com:

“—————– Original Message —————–
From: ******* Promotions
Date: Mar 20, 2006 10:35 AM

Hey guys, ******* Promtions [sic] are organising an all day BOTB on the 21st of May 2006 at the Old Angel in Nottingham and were wondering if you would be interested in playing at it? The prize will be a record contract with ******* Records!

After huge success with gigs of the same nature in Wakefield and Derby giving us 2 awesome bands on our label (** ** ******** and ******) we have decided to do some more!

All you need to do to secure your place on this awesome gig is to be able to sell 20 tickets for £5 each and then send us the money. Simple. This money then goes to the winning band in the form of a tour, merch, demos etc etc etc.

Hope you are interested if so please give us the address to send the tickets to.
Thanks
******* Promotions”

…All of which would be fine – horses for courses and some people see these things as opportunities, others (well, okay, us) see them as scams, yadda yadda yadda… read our guide for my personal opinion on such things, but feel free to form your own…

BUT.

…the guy had contacted Bologna Pony to ask them to take part in a battle of the bands. Without wishing to disrespect anyone, can you really believe that this guy took the time to actually listen to Bologna Pony before he invited us to play? Do you think he really does want a horrifically loud improvised noise/drone band to actually play in a musical competition (for a contract entirely funded by sales of tickets for the gig)? Jesus Christ, think of the punters who turn out for their mates in the other bands! Scratch that: think of the other bands!

And whilst we’re on the subject; just how is the competition decided anyway? Because, let’s face it, Bologna Pony wins. Sorry guys! Personally, I was thinking we should enter just to see how many people we could upset this time around, but Gareth told me he’s already said no. Another opportunity missed…

It is with some embarrassment that I note the release date of this double ‘A’-side/25-minute EP was a while ago, but it is with no small enthusiasm that I recommend you go and dig this sucker out from your local indie store.

By all rights, the Chemistry Experiment should be an institution. Wilfully idiosyncratic and fascinatingly off-kilter, their brooding and experimental pop music deserves far more recognition than it generally receives. Plus, their devotion to perfectionism should be lauded – not many bands would have the patience to spend so long tweaking and fiddling with their debut album, with such spectacular results. Now, after slaving for five years over that rightly lauded album (released last year), they’ve already got around to banging out another four tracks (plus a song off the album) for this EP, led by a characteristically strange and sprawling amalgamation of two songs by other people.

Pressing play for the first time on this CD, I was struck how the first ten seconds sound like a snatch from DJ Shadow’s “Endtroducing” album, but then I realised that this was the Experiment playing “Forever Autumn”, a song best-known for its inclusion in the famous War of the Worlds soundtrack (no, nothing to do with Spielberg). And a grand job the kids do in tackling a fairly drippy song,

Around four and a half minutes in they start vamping it up and you realise that the dreamy wistful melodies have been replaced by chaotic echoing slide dobro, droning synths, clattering drums and smears of cymbals that gradually peter out before regrouping and kicking into that familiar chord progression from “Interstellar Overdrive” by Messrs Barrett and those other cunts. Then, just to top it off, the Experiment pull a double-reverse and segue straight back into one final refrain from “Forever Autumn” as one final cherry for as proof of the pudding for this feast of a sonic gateau.*

Twee enthusiasts and apologists who might be feeling scared by this point, please note: the radio edit of the title song and album track “You’re the prettiest thing” (serving as the other ‘A’ side) save this CDEP from all-out prog nonsense. Don’t worry, the Experiment haven’t forsaken you entirely. But watch out! The remaining EP tracks include disco beats with swashbuckling wah-wah guitars on “Karin”, and then lots of heavenly squiggling synths alongside some neat vocodering of Steven J. Kirk’s distinctive vocals on a cover of “Belt and Shoelaces” originally by The Butterflies of Love.

Something of (another) triumph from The Chemistry Experiment then – a fantastically good-value-for-money deal on a serious chunk of music, along with a cracking couple of covers. Go seek it out.

[*Yes, I said sonic gateau. Sorry.]

www.thechemistryexperiment.co.uk
www.fortunapop.com