Something Old, Something New, Something To Look Forward To: September

After a few months absence, a return for my trio of recommendations of old, new and forthcoming releases for those seeking the alternative.

Something Old: This Heat-Deceit
Very much overlooked (by me included), the influence this short-lived London-based experimental band cannot be underestimated. Released in 1981, Deceit was the band’s second and ultimately final album. It’s chilling lyrics depict a damning view of the potential devastation of the Cold War (the cover is a collage of images of mushroom clouds, Ronald Reagan, Nikita Khrushchev and the like), but musically this was light years ahead of its time, and remains remarkably fresh and unsettling. The tribal drumming and angular guitars of Sleep paves the way for the monstrous Paper Hats, whose repeated discordant outro is like a template for the current crop of experimental noise/punk bands on the other side of the Atlantic (see Liars and Oneida). Elsewhere, strange, seething tape loops (Radio Prague), metallic percussion and unlikely instrument combinations (Triumph) make this a less than compromising listen, but Deceit skilfully weaves these attributes around genuinely memorable songs. SPQR genuinely rocks with its fierce guitars, and if you only hear one This Heat song, make it the phenomenal A New Kind Of Water, a genuine anti-anthem, and lyrically the most clear-cut (“acrid stench and festering tongue/New York, Moscow, Nairobi in flames”) in its condemnation of nuclear war.
If you like this try: The Pop Group: Y (1979), Liars: Drum’s Not Dead (2006)

Something New: Ponytail-Ice Cream Spiritual
One of the most outright fun albums to come out this year, Ice Cream Spiritual is an explosive blend of sugary melodies, bulldozer guitars and insane vocals. Ponytail share many of their best traits with fellow art-rockers Deerhoof: the sweet, almost child-like innocence of the tunes contrasted with the maniacal guitars and heavyweight percussion, the breakneck speed at which they can play, the surf-rock undertones, the female vocals. On the last point, however, the two bands do in fact differ: whilst Deerhoof’s Satomi Matsuzaki sounds like a Japanese schoolgirl, Molly Siegel shrieks, growls, squeals and generally throws a fit at the mic, and never actually sings as such. This all adds to the band’s appeal of course, particularly on the head-spinning opener Beg Waves, and on Late For School, where one of the other band members pipes up with the line “Oh no, I’m late for school!” and the song aptly descends into chaos. At 34 minutes, Ice Cream Spiritual is merciful enough not to pound you into the dust, but leaves you out of breath and knowing you’ve been on a heck of an ordeal, one you won’t mind experiencing again and again.
If you like this try: Deerhoof: Reveille (2002), Melt Banana: Bambi’s Dilemma (2007)

Something To Look Forward To: Of Montreal-Skeletal Lamping
Part of the anglophilic Elephant Six Collective (the source of cult acts such as Neutral Milk Hotel, the Olivia Tremor Control and the Apples In Stereo) so enthralled by late-60’s psychedelia, Of Montreal had churned out album after album of colourful whimsy and daft song/album titles for the best part of a decade, before they finally came of age with last year’s outstanding Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer. Following the break-up of singer Kevin Barnes’ relationship with his girlfriend, Hissing Fauna charted the bitterness and self-destruction of a clearly fragile persona. It was by far the band’s most ambitious effort, putting genuine substance behind the irrepressibly camp and chirpy nature of the band’s work (and backed up by a bizarre live show which could probably best be described as a homo-erotic take on Peter Gabriel-era Genesis). All of which makes next month’s follow-up Skeletal Lamping (for me at least) one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year. The album apparently continues the narrative from their last album, which sees Barnes descend into his androgynous alter-ego Georgie Fruit. Echoes of Ziggy Stardust anyone?
If you like their earlier work, try: The Beatles: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Olivia Tremor Control: Dusk At Cubist Castle (1996)