Customer Reviews

Life Is a Wild and Scarey Thing

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What a weird band. When I started collecting their tapes I didn't know if they were real or not, as in only a recording project, as there was little info to go. Much to my surprise I find I have tape versions of nearly all the early albums, `The Haunting' (1982), `Beyond The Graves Of Passion' (1983), `A Cool Dark Place To Die' (1984), as well as `Mouseblood' (1982 and 1985 versions!) and `Love Is Like Dying' (1986), and there's three others missing, along with a series of 7" singles. They were a busy band, and clearly did play live. They also, as their CD pages show on the website, do Garage-flavoured Punk and Pop CDs too. All very strange.

I'll review a few of these records they have sent me over the next week or so, because a mystery band always deserves to be explored, and we have THE MICK restarting after I get back from a weeklong trip with Lynda at the end of this month, so there's going to be scope aplenty for me to start uncovering some of my recent finds and I will do a proper interview.

For now, let's investigate an unusual, and exciting record.

`A Cool Dark Place' is actually a bizarre opener on this CD of re-recorded early work, with its bright guitar and leisurely but bracing tone, through which the guitar emerges at length into a darker and piercing menace, all ridiculously tuneful. Mellow, slightly hesitant vocals work well in this setting with a mournful edge and the continued high, edgey guitar maintains a powerful flow to a nagging and sudden end. `Way Gone With The Worms' is a weird thing which follows that kiddy-style tune about `swam and the swam right over the dam' except that here's worms, and there's a brackish punk kick. The woman is the song sounds like an acquired taste: `She has no lips, she has no eyes, and in her mouth she has a nest of flies. Where she's never buried I'll never tell, but you could find her just from the smell.' Act7ally that doesn't really make sense because if the odour was a that string it'd hardly something deniable, no? Excitably overwrought guitar finally draws a discreet veil over proceedings.

`Gallows Dance/Hangman's Jig' has a One-Eyed Jacks sample, lots of weirdly rolling guitar fun, and left-field dark punk sentiments and their sluggish, woozy version of `I Can See For Miles' is certainly nicely weird and unexpectedly creepy. `Not In Love Anymore' almost errs on the wrong side of rock guitar, but stays sensibly controlled, in a spiritedly sounding piece of sombre moodiness. `In The Garden Of Evil' comes from a slow motion Crampsian school of thought, willowy and shambling nicely, while the bassier, consumptive `Tomorrow Never Comes' tingles sweetly with light synth shading and the vocals graze it all with an attractively weary drama.

`Miron' is ditzy pop, `Semolina' a weird Residents cover, and `Christina' a lovely dreamy stroll like a rock n roll tribute. `Slave/Bonfire' maintains a punky atmosphere on from a doomy sample, simple vocals surrounded by swirling backing and prodded by niggling guitar, and all of it strangely brilliant. `El Soundo Mundo' is a parping blaring mess that must have been a good idea once and there's definitely a good song buried in there somewhere.

`Theatre Of Ice' is mental, fittingly enough, with a raw rock wound infested by punky writhing maggots and weeping, screaming `Creature' has low guitar, sustained vocal mania and another sub-psychobilly web to catch you in with a slightly spacey tinge. You need to be strong to withstand this track, but I just know you can do it.

There's also a weird ending, which I won't spoil, as they already have, but the main thing is that here we have a really good collection of songs where the unifying strengths ensure there aren't any monstrous stylistic leaps to disrupt its quality. They have their own approach, and involve other elements, which is always cool. And it sounds good.

They obviously has these pressed a while ago as it's on the Orphange label, so I wouldn't hang around if you want a copy as it must be a limited edition now, and I suspect you'll soon be starting your own collection.