Prescott:
One Did:
CD/dwnld:
Slowfoot Records:
Out April 28th:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
One of the most misunderstood treasures of the '80s were Stump, a band whose catalogue included Charlton Heston ('with his vest on', an unlikely 'hit' abroad), Mud On a Colon, the aptly-monikered Chaos and the album that failed to (ahem) cross over, A Fierce Pancake. Peel loved them, which tells you all you need to know - less fashionable than The Fall, less barbed than The Nightingales, they dug themselves into a similar trench with strangeness, quirk and charm.
After Stump disbanded, bassist Kev Hopper continued the theme of wilfully eccentric left-field pop with the 1990 release of his debut solo album Stolen Jewels, an album I remember from my time working at Our Price and with which I had the displeasure of returning every single copy back to the supplier after its failure to sell. Later albums included Spoombung and The Germjoin - so, no chance of playing it straight anytime soon then.
Cue Prescott, a trio formed of Hopper, drummer Frank Byng and instrumentalist Rhodri Marsden, with additional saxes from The Remote Viewer Horns on the track Philby Flies - it could be business as usual, I fancy. After thirty seconds of freeform opener Floored, I'm proven right - we're dealing with Beefheart, Blurt (minus the sax) and Blegvad in varying degrees, with a spot of Elliot Sharp and Zappa slung in for good measure. Good so far. Lo and behold on Didisms, amongst the atonal varietal, a lone melody appears from Marsden's keyboards before the rug is pulled abruptly from under our feet and the trio continue to carve their way through an unsettling soundscape once more. This is the closest Prescott come to a 'hit', by the way.
Dissonance rules throughout One Did with tiny insights into dub, jazz and prog, most notably on another highlight Two Words Ruder, while the closing cadenza One Done is intricately hammered out on a piano in suitably abstract style. The remainder of the album lurches along in a similar vein, minus the ambience of that concluding etude.
As perplexing as their namesake, the former MP John, Prescott do occasionally demonstrate the forgotten art of the confounded, the contrary and the confused with compelling results but sometimes leave me stumped. Intriguing.
One Did:
CD/dwnld:
Slowfoot Records:
Out April 28th:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
After Stump disbanded, bassist Kev Hopper continued the theme of wilfully eccentric left-field pop with the 1990 release of his debut solo album Stolen Jewels, an album I remember from my time working at Our Price and with which I had the displeasure of returning every single copy back to the supplier after its failure to sell. Later albums included Spoombung and The Germjoin - so, no chance of playing it straight anytime soon then.
Cue Prescott, a trio formed of Hopper, drummer Frank Byng and instrumentalist Rhodri Marsden, with additional saxes from The Remote Viewer Horns on the track Philby Flies - it could be business as usual, I fancy. After thirty seconds of freeform opener Floored, I'm proven right - we're dealing with Beefheart, Blurt (minus the sax) and Blegvad in varying degrees, with a spot of Elliot Sharp and Zappa slung in for good measure. Good so far. Lo and behold on Didisms, amongst the atonal varietal, a lone melody appears from Marsden's keyboards before the rug is pulled abruptly from under our feet and the trio continue to carve their way through an unsettling soundscape once more. This is the closest Prescott come to a 'hit', by the way.
Dissonance rules throughout One Did with tiny insights into dub, jazz and prog, most notably on another highlight Two Words Ruder, while the closing cadenza One Done is intricately hammered out on a piano in suitably abstract style. The remainder of the album lurches along in a similar vein, minus the ambience of that concluding etude.
As perplexing as their namesake, the former MP John, Prescott do occasionally demonstrate the forgotten art of the confounded, the contrary and the confused with compelling results but sometimes leave me stumped. Intriguing.