THE WAXING CAPTORS - PLEASURE! (2010)

When I started this blog it was with the intention of seeking out odd albums with wacky artwork and this album by The Waxing Captors perfectly illustrates the type of release on my radar. Look at the cover, how could I resist it?

The track titles looked reasonably interesting, File Under Rock/Pop and Date With The Normal being the two that stood out initially. I was a touch worried by the title Bringing The Beatles Back To Hamburg, as far as I'm concerned that city has suffered enough.

Bottle In My Hand kicks off the album, the cheese-fest suggested by the cover isn't evident in the music, happily it is guitar-led indie with a slightly unhinged fringe. Bringing The Beatles Back To Hamburg is more like The Hives than the fab four, that feel carries on into the next track Shrinking Telephone.

Sounding uncannily like Franz Ferdinand at times on Constant Sorrow and Real Time, it struck me that the Waxing Captors actually sound like several bands on this album. The fun is that they sound like several bands but always on the cusp of sliding into chaos, however, they somehow pull it around to make some rather catchy tunes. I'm not sure if Date With The Normal is an ode to Daniel Miller but it is a great tune. Pleasure! is an album with short, snappy and enjoyable tracks with enough edge to please me. Nothing like the cover artwork but still a pleasure.

Top Tracks: Constant Sorrow, Date With The Normal, Golden Afternoon, Jaywalkin' Out Your Heart.

Verdict: Pass - the pleasure's all mine.

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From YouTube:

OLD GRANDAD - THE LAST UPPER (1999)

The artwork looked so appalling that I simply had to buy this one. Appalling, not so much because of the (yawn) blasphemous concept for the cover, but the terrible quality of the illustration. Hell, I knew what I was buying into but that was half the fun....or so I thought?

Some of the track titles did offer a small amount of hope. Though, now looking back in hindsight, I was simply adding even more fuel to the fire. It seems Your Guts On Rye was not about the quaint cinque port in East Sussex and Woman Hurt In Bizarre Exorcism wasn't a helpful health and safety message, I'm not sure what Daly City Crackhouse was about, maybe dodgy external wall rendering?

The CD arrived with a sticker proclaiming "a brutal concoction of primal sludge tempered with bursts of speedcore fury" - I was in deeper than I had even realised.

So, musically it is all clank, clank, rattle, rattle, grind, bass, growl, fuzz, scream.....pause....... clank, clank, rattle, rattle, grind, bass, growl, fuzz, scream. There was an awkward and ill-advised "let's be Rage Against The Machine" rap moment but mostly it is the same old formula, including the essential scattering of expletives. Lyrically there's not much to offer either, I was slightly amused by Your Guts On Rye having the words "Second bloody verse, we're having dinner in a hearse, grind up the bloody pulp mess of the heathen scumling f***ing a dead nurse". That gives you an idea of what this album is about. The final track Zero Sky does offer a slightly more gentle and thoughtful ending but then spoils it all with a lazy fade out.

If Old Grandad still exist then they can rest assured that this album is only really suitable for fans of speedcore and from their point of view that's probably a job well done.

Top Tracks: Woman Hurt In Bizarre Exorcism, Relatively Far From The Equator

Verdict: Fail - supports the case for euthanasia

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Taster From YouTube:

LAZY-B - LAZY-B TV (2006)

Vaguely picked for the artwork (i.e. a Peter Murphy-era Maxell advert memory) and the Underwear Goes Inside The Pants and The Manual (Chapter 4) track titles, this Lazy-B album seemed to offer something a little different. However, upon listening, the first couple of tracks soon diminished any promise, instead presenting itself more as a one-trick pony. A rather tired one-trick pony with one wonky leg.

Each track is nothing much more than a sequence of cut-up voice samples and spoken word messages providing facts and information over an uninspiring dance backing. Sort of a disco Baz Luhrmann Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen with slightly more emphasis on sexual themes, presumably to make it appear more edgy? Yawn.

It might have made a mildly entertaining three minute single but with each repeat play, an album full of the stuff gets less and less enjoyable. Once you've heard all the titbits, there's just no point in hearing them again. It came with a Limited Edition Bonus DVD, which didn't improve the experience. I should have guessed from the artwork that this album is so tired it needs a chair. The Maxell ad was much more exciting.

Top Track: Are You Qualified?

Verdict: Fail - just plain lazy.

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Here are some examples from YouTube:

MANKIND LIBERATION FRONT - AUTOMIND (2004)

Easy this one, I was instantly attracted by the appearance of an SH101 synth on the front cover and a band called Mankind Liberation Front. On the downside the dreadlocks and acoustic guitar were of slight concern. Checking out the track titles swung the positive feeling back, with Jackie Is Joining The Navy indicating mundane absurdity and Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers promising b-movie chic.

Around & Around opens the album with a pseudo-robotic voice and then thumps in nicely with the opening line "a knock at the door, I start to remember a padded cell I tried to forget...". That's not a bad start.

The sticker on the front of the album suggested that Warm. Strong. Numb was a "hit single", I'm not sure about that, but it certainly is a punchy track. It is followed by the calm, dreamy Safe From The Sun and then the catchy Jackie Is Joining The Navy which sounds terrific with inclusion of grinding guitar.

Sitting somewhere between a light Depeche Mode (or a Martin L. Gore solo project) and Bis, the album rolls along well. The main backbone of the album combines dry lead vocals with a refined synth-pop production and, at times, some well-placed guitar provides extra drive and twang. A good example of this is the thunderous instrumental Surrounded Isolated Pt 2. There are also some warmer moments like the Californian sunshine glow of Take A Number and the "I hate science fiction" humour of Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers.

Apart from a superfluous remix of Warm. Strong. Numb at the very end, the album finishes with a long, mangled soundscape - it doesn't really add anything of value or interest, but a little weirdness is always a welcome thing.

Automind is one of those albums where there may not be a jaw-dropping, stand-out track but you find that you enjoy pretty much every track and each listen can offer a new favourite.

Top Tracks: Warm. Strong. Numb, Jackie Is Joining The Navy, Keep Ahead.

Verdict: Pass - always trust in the SH101.