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NEW RELEASES - NEW YEAR 2001 - SHEET 4 |
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MR.QUIMBY’S BEARD – “Mr.Quimby’s Beard”(M&E 410 ☼½ 48 / CDR 47:50 Freaky Fungi, England) Here’s some good news for all you fellow space cadets; Mr.Quimby’s debut cassette is now on CDR too! The sound of rainfall opens the proceedings, but then they are from Sunderland. Pan-pipe keyboards meander as the rhythm builds, Hammond organ hums in the background, it’s prog, Jim, but not as we know it. Bit of a 70s feel; Greenslade, stuff like that. But then there’s the spacerock element, kinda like real vintage Hawkwind, “Down Through The Night” era. The semi-chanted harmonised vocals with English accents, ever travelling bass lines et al. Synth arpeggios, horses (horses???) and maracas, tabla beats and cosmic synth FX, spatial winds and phased echo lead guitar, far out, man! There’s some tribal stuff too, “The Forest Song”… with its… er… helicopters, guns and… er… sirens. Um… if you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a BIG surprise! The ultimate trip into the world of progressive spacerock, we have lift off!
RAS.AL.GHUL – “Subharmonic Density Structures”(CD 59:06 ☼☼ Aquatica, Portugal) Batman’s most fiendish nemesis returns, craftily softening his Bat-senses with more subtle ambience, so he’ll be chilling in the Batcave while they’re out robbing the National Bank in Gotham City! Um, I’m telling. But that’s no reason you can’t chill too… unless you live in Gotham City, that is. Anywhere else in the world, it’s quite safe to listen to this wondrous collection of Eastern rhythms. Ambient jungle beats, swirling synth boops, excellent technology, tabla percussion and Indian disk-drive, spacey chills, some great synth sounds on multi-cultural rhythms. East meets West, courtesy of these fine exponents of Benfica Bhangra. Slip some opium in your bong and off you go…
SOLANACEAE TAU – “Epical Obscura”(CDR 57:07 ☼½ Independent, Germany) Ah, more of that heavy gothic wave Germanic teknoid from the dark ones of Frankfurt. There’s an obsession with dark visions here; the dark vocals of Nicci Harrington (doesn’t sound very German, does it?), the dark guitars and synths of Andreas Kirchner (that does though) and heavy Creatures style percussion. Ooh, scary! Kind of arty with many vocals chanted or spoken, rather than sung, to great hypnotic effect. Sinister, yet comforting, leaves you quite ill at ease. A triumph of style that should be gracing some classic Art House cinema, with its dirty guitars, complex rhythms and industrial base. Music to have nightmares by, fall from grace and ye shall succumb to the dark arts of Solanaceae Tau. The title is German for “Hide The Pickle”.
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STONE PREMONITIONS (various) – “The Cat’s Whiskers”(M&E 568 ☼☼ 90) All your favourite artistes from the really quite excellent co-operative from the distant north. Well, County Durham. The Rabbit’s Hat offer their unique style of progressive psychedelia. You know, all that stuff like Yes, Genesis, Greenslade etc. Throw in some Hillage style guitar and Roger Chapman vox, get the picture? Extremely talented bunch. Terri B offers her sensuous brand of the unusual. The voice that would melt better does takes on avant garde jazz and Hoagie Carmichael. Mmmn, great. Mr.Quimby’s Beard do… well… it’s cosmic spacerock, innit? Skin up. Paul Rose offers the stylish guitar instrumental. Body Full Of Stars are kinda like an extension of The Rabbit’s Hat, similar vein. Krom Lek offer Eastern percussion variations on the 70s psycheprog theme. Tim Jones goes solo! Census Of Hallucinations offer festie traveller sounds for swinging soap-dodgers. And finally, Neon give yas a sort of 80s tek-reggae Thomas Dolby type thing. Overall, 90 minutes of high quality material from a team we admire the arses off. Trust me, “The Cat’s Whiskers” is the dog’s bollocks!
TUTSIS / PAJAMA SLAVE DANCERS - “Black Widow”(M&E 565 ☼☼ 49)A corking little set here from them lively types at Dagger Tapes. This is actually a kind of follow-on from Sanity Assassins, so expect some of the raucous punky elements from their music… and then something else entirely. It’s like Martha & The Muffins meets The Ramones, only with a very throaty vocal. We’re not talking Napalm Death here, you can actually understand this lot. Then Napalm Death were Brummies. Psycherock Connecticut punk indeed, some lovely chunkadelic guitars and cool sax work. Did I mention variety? I should have done. Track 2 starts in a smoke-filled bar room, a sleazy femme fatale vocal… and then it all punks up and she screams “Heroin Bitch” and we’re leaping around the room, stage-diving off the sofa… and… and… phew, that was fun. Twin sax and grungy rock sounds, throaty male vox and punky femme vox, sophistication and “Rabid Beaver Attack” all in one. What more could you ask for? A few tracks bonus from Pajama Slave Dancers, absolutely. Yes, I know they can’t spell pyjamas, but they are Americans, bless them. Can’t even make up their minds who they want for President, let alone how to spell pyjamas. This is smokin’ U.S. psychepunk instrumental, bit of Link Wray, the kind of utter grooviness that should be gracing Tarantino movies! The thinking man’s Revillos! Subtle as a jackhammer all round, yeah! |
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