Review Shriekback

[michaellevenson]

This is a fascinating group, I've been a fan for a couple of decades. It's difficult to pigeon hole them. Very dark, but not heavy, a dark electro dance sort of progressive avant garde band formed by ex XTC man Barry Andrews. They are really clever lyrically.
Now we sadly know that cancer is a killer, a recessive gene, here Shriekback turn it into a femme fatale in " Recessive Jean "

 

[michaellevenson]

Here's another dark little ditty about death and corpses which actually was a bit of a club land hit.

 

[michaellevenson]

And this is from the early days, about '84, totally unique singing style of Barry Andrews.

 

[michaellevenson]

An amazing track on their recent album "Without Real String or Fish". The vocal performance of Carl Marsh is staggering. There's a number of made up words, all with 8,9 or more syllables, and he doesn't put a word wrong in singing it. There's no way he could memorize these words when recording without having them written in front of him. It's impossible!!
I'll explain. The song is Beyond Metropolis, now we know what a metropolis is , but let's make up a couple of examples similar to ones in the song.
A city of kleptomaniacs is a Kleptomaniopolis, or a city with azure blue skies is a Azureopolis. Now , the words and definitions that Carl Marsh sings effortlessly.
All coloured light and black light kiss;
Panchromosoniradiopolis
Or a deep down and dark abyss;
Subterranononphotopolis
It could feed all fears and phobias;
Mescalinomedichemicotopia
All human life will seethe and hiss;
Cosmovivageniparahystopolis
Can you pray for this?;
Superphilicredobenedeusangeles
From raging flux and atom fizz;
Metamorphopolyquantumopolis
To a city of plans and maps and lists;
Stylolexicartagraphicopolis
The everlasting quest for bliss;
Intoxivinopharmanarcobibendopolis
Can you feel it yet?;
Emperteleosmosynersentiopolis
Compass spin and Geiger clicks;
Polargyrofluximagnetopolis
The power to make the axis shift;
Hydroleothermadynogasoheliopolis
The forlorn intelligentsia;
Cerebrasophocognimelantragiopia
The steady on hardworking stiffs;
Manuferroxylofactopragmatopolis
An amazing collections of lyrics, pity I can't find a decent link on youtube, but the whole album is there, but not that track on its own.
So here's another goody with Carl Marsh , their secondary singer, on vocals.

 

[michaellevenson]

Nice live version of Gunning For The Buddha with ex XTC man Barry Andrews on vocals.
]

 

[michaellevenson]

Mmm? This is new. A track I don't know from a live show this month in London.
A new album coming perhaps.

 

[michaellevenson]

Put this on the "what are you listening to " thread , just prior to it overloading!!
Hope nothing I did guys. I'll stick to individual threads .

 

[michaellevenson]

OMG ! New album out. Watching them they look like aging m.o.r. rockers, but that's further from the truth that it's possible to be.

 

[michaellevenson]

Great new album out now, as always I homed in on the Carl Marsh vocal lead songs, and as usual recently he has three , Barry Andrews has the rest. They're both great singers with distinctive voices..Marsh this time has a track where he crams in as many animal references as possible, animal names that are either homonyms i.e. lynx=links or descriptive adjectives.
CATMANDU
had a giraffe
with a dandy lion
watched the leopard skin
with the 'ol skunk eye
then squirrel away
all the missing lynx
take a baseball bat
to the hippocrites
tell the wasp to let me bee
I'm staggered deer hart you're moosin' me
high as a kite
down at 'eel
hear the killer whale
and your fate is sealed
swanning around on pigeon toes
duck and cover hawk it up and crow
don't know why but I know it's true
the dogman don't but the catman do
from throbbing red breast
to cold blue tit
was it the horsin' around
or the pony club hit
bullshit coming down the chicken wire
tern and swallow set your heron fire
don't know why but I know it's true
the dogman don't but the catman do

 

[michaellevenson]

An amazing track on their recent album "Without Real String or Fish". The vocal performance of Carl Marsh is staggering. There's a number of made up words, all with 8,9 or more syllables, and he doesn't put a word wrong in singing it. There's no way he could memorize these words when recording without having them written in front of him. It's impossible!!
I'll explain. The song is Beyond Metropolis, now we know what a metropolis is , but let's make up a couple of examples similar to ones in the song.
A city of kleptomaniacs is a Kleptomaniopolis, or a city with azure blue skies is a Azureopolis. Now , the words and definitions that Carl Marsh sings effortlessly.
All coloured light and black light kiss;
Panchromosoniradiopolis
Or a deep down and dark abyss;
Subterranononphotopolis
It could feed all fears and phobias;
Mescalinomedichemicotopia
All human life will seethe and hiss;
Cosmovivageniparahystopolis
Can you pray for this?;
Superphilicredobenedeusangeles
From raging flux and atom fizz;
Metamorphopolyquantumopolis
To a city of plans and maps and lists;
Stylolexicartagraphicopolis
The everlasting quest for bliss;
Intoxivinopharmanarcobibendopolis
Can you feel it yet?;
Emperteleosmosynersentiopolis
Compass spin and Geiger clicks;
Polargyrofluximagnetopolis
The power to make the axis shift;
Hydroleothermadynogasoheliopolis
The forlorn intelligentsia;
Cerebrasophocognimelantragiopia
The steady on hardworking stiffs;
Manuferroxylofactopragmatopolis

Hopefully I've now got ahold of a link.to the track Beyond Metropolis. The whole album is here, 17.30 minutes into it the aforementioned track starts.

 

[michaellevenson]

A song titled Beatle Zebra Crossing?
It is about ...erm the crossing.
Plenty of Beatles references, not sure if this is pro Beatles, anti, or a piss take, or simply about the crossing.

 

[michaellevenson]

New album out soon , can't wait.

 

[michaellevenson]

Great song from new album that may or may not be based on the Grenfell fire disaster. Cool video recorded not too far from where I live.