Photo: Warwick Baker
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GIRL BAND THE TALKIES
Callum Gray 8.5/10
Girl Band’s new pronoun free album is threatening and disorientating in a way that places it firmly in the bracket of sonic surrealism. The lyrics twist and turn alongside the percussion, more as a phonic aid than a contextualising device. Inventive motifs laden in cacophonous reverb hide below the riot, rising-up at times and really demonstrating the band’s sense for melody. The overblown bass throbs and pulsates, while the pounding percussion hisses and snaps. It culminates as an abstract chamber of noise. Existing barely within the realms of control, Girl Band somehow demonstrate restraint and technique while delivering their cacophonous assault.
This album is their finest and clearest artistic vision yet. They’ve shown themselves to be a creative powerhouse, it isn’t a typical album, it requires a bit of commitment, but every listen is rewarding, and it never fails to illicit a reaction.
If they committed to something less abstract, they could create something that really pushed the boundaries of pop music – although something about them indicates that their only way to create excellent music is through this thick layer of inaccessibility, which is not bad, not bad at all.
GALLI IN THE ROUNDHOUSE THERE’S HORNETS
David Auckland 9/10
This eagerly-awaited debut EP from Norwich's Galli surely confirms them as one of the most innovative and original acts to emerge in 2019. Consisting of Ash Woolnough on bass, Georgia King on vocals and guitar, and Alex Elliott on drums, together this trio conjure an almost transcendental fusion of folk rock, jazz and soul.
'Sabika' is the opening track and commences with delicate guitar played over sparse but insistent drumming. Georgia's voice writhes, twists and turns, concocting a portentous tone of apprehension and fear. 'If you come to me tonight, will you be kind?', she pleads in this beautiful yet disturbing story of sleep paralysis. Meanwhile, 'Whittle Away' sharpens a willow stave in a tale of trouble stirring, with its Paul Giovanni-like melody and jazz embellishment reaching a dramatic conclusion. It also features the lyric line from which this EP takes its name. 'Chrysalis' assumes further natural guise, reflecting laconically upon themes of metamorphosis and change. And finally, 'All I Need' delivers an epic and impassioned conclusion to this impressive debut collection. Recorded and mixed by Mikey Shaw at The Crunch, 'In The Roundhouse There's Hornets' is one of my favourite releases of 2019.
RICHARD DAWSON 2020
Aled Vernon-Rees 9/10
Turning British folk music on its head 2020 acts as a dissection of modern life using small lives and humble moments to create a bleak painting of English society.
The album opens with the harsh and abrasive distortion in the opening of ‘Civil Servant’. This almost industrial moment is mirrored perfectly with the lyrics that follow which document the cyclical struggles of monotonous work and the nervous conditions that surround it.
Musically ‘2020’ is a nightmarish blend of folk, metal, pop and prog with Dawson’s hauntingly stunning voice guiding you through. It is chaotic at times yet perfectly organised with every distorted twang of the guitar falling into the right place. However, ‘2020’ is more than just music it is real. Dawson is not using metaphor’s he is instead using the lyrics to display human life and society as it is. It is not the easiest listen however its pungent and honest delivery makes it one of the most interesting albums of the year.
18 / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2019 /
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