Another NBTListeningIn track by track music review
We used to call the 24/7 continuous NBTMusicRadio stream pushed out into a trembling world, ‘’The NBTEclectic’’ Alex Botton is THE (or is it THEE) poster child for Indie Eclectic.
Mastermind/guiding force/chief disrupter behind a multitude of projects, like Rainbow Skull, Thee Alex, and Disquiet Black Country, to name just three; he is one of the Better Angels of the off centre, life affirming, yet anti social, yet come one come all, alternative pop noise.
And now we have ÜLV two part human (Alex and Steve (Torrie), one part machine; an intense distraction to our mundane world.
The set opens with ‘’ Behind the Door’’ a prowling swirl, wild wanton, the best type of claustrophobic, a wall of sound MBV relation, seasoned with stabs of panic. Can a tune be predatory AND empathetic at the same time, ÜLV attempts to find out.
‘’Trebleblaster’’ is what I imagine you would get if an English folk eccentric like Kevin Ayers or Robyn Hitchcock, joined the J and M Chain for a dirty weekend at the coast.
Holy Nukes Batman!! ‘’ Bombs Of Love’’ is my fave so far, the guitar here is two ambulances crashing chaotic, is this distorted Hymns On 45? For those who were born in another era of fear (hello cold war, I hear you) this has the wry mixed in with the angst of that old Woodstock/Country Joe and the Fish’s ‘’Fish Cheer’( if it was a bloody minded punk song)
‘’Beiderbecke Buyer’’ name checks Jazz greats, breaking verses of fine agitpop statements, thrown into a (as the band calls it) a ‘punk racket’ melody, it’s followed by ‘’ ‘One Day at a
Time’, a sensual schizophrenic that starts of like a forceful Joy Division march (with guitar) and morphs abrupt and proud into a rocket ride into the inner senses, the dreaming conducted by a frazzled beautiful Sandman. Love this one
‘’Beiderbecke Sellout (Keep It Nice and Fancy)’’ The Sleaford Mods, during a fast forward Monday morning grumpy? Mmm on second thoughts, nah, hard to define but I love the lyrics here, anyone who tackles song writing no matter what their genre will smile at this
Listening to ‘’ The Total’’ I find myself totally (see what I did here) in sync with this band and their disruptive art, it’s like, sometimes indie pop can be so bland and you are listening to it on a radio which cannot quite tune into the broadcast, and everything is grind and roar and cogs screaming rough at each other, making the aforesaid tunes devolve/evolve into the harshest serenity.
Imagine if you will, ‘Who Do You Love’ taken to a joint Bikers and School disco, it spins around changes shape and is fed class A drugs, so that it becomes a forever misunderstood pop masterpiece, this is ‘’An A-Team Wheeler’’
‘’ Fifty-Something Goth ‘’ reminds me of every alternative night club I ever played at, and it hits the spot, The Cult thankfully turns into The Sisters Of Mercy, who pick a fight with The Nephilim while the Birthday Party strut past, a rather wonderful feat of time travel .
The final track, ‘’A Fanfare, Of Course’’ is glorious, three to four times longer than the other tunes, this has the majesty of bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor (it soars and rumbles anthem like through the airwaves) and fragility of early Suicide. It’s a statement of supreme intent and all the modern fears bound tight within. It should collapse with in itself, but the storm continues becoming the new normal,
Stunning
You can buy and hear the album here:
Leave a Reply