Solo project from Monster Island drummer Wes Emmison shares some of the scruffy, angular style of that outfit, except wrangled into a more Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks like pop feeling, which is very apparent on the summery lead riff of Mr. Average, jaunty and skew-whiff. luvaddict100 is a raucous, cacophony of hollered vocals over a cocksure riff flopping into a shuffling grumpy refrain signposted by the lyric; ‘Nothing better to do.’ A well constructed shambles if such a thing can be?
Lost In Notation marries mundanity with a playful folksy guitar in a similar manner to Threatmantics often do, peppered with wryly delivered arch lyrics such as; ‘Let’s go somewhere nice, how about Paris? I’ve heard it’s all right.’ Elsewhere f u b has a freewheeling, bitter and frustrated vibe perfectly befitting the lively, emanicpating guitar riffage; ‘I’ll try and stay positive, even though I think it’s all shit.’ Ending in a rousing if despondent chorus of; ‘Well, fuck it I guess.’
After these first four tracks that encapsulate the grumpy trials of everyday life in liberating, ragged guitar driven tunes, there’s the quirky folksy shuffle of Waltz With Me, acoustic guitar prancing around and tippy-tap percussion, whilst layers of vocals lie wearily and whimsically atop one another.
Things go endearingly Status Quo with the riff of Floored/Mandy, though the squawkingly yelled cries of the titular name are far removed from Francis Rossi and co. Beans pt.2 is a ramshackle clatter of barely audible yelps, murmurs and a sozzled, stuttering guitar that all collapses to a close. Leading into the ticking clock and maudlin, off-beat pacing of Winter, which bares some similarity to Supreme Vagabond Craftsman‘s more reflective moments.
Piano ditty Sleep Sex finds Wes pining; ‘And no, I know that I’ll never regret , I wish for a bit that I could fucking forget you.’ Slight backing vocals, a brief guitar and bird song all add a nice bit of garnish to a bittersweet and delightfully sad-sack ballad, its sombre tones infect the opening of A Trickle Tickles as Wes calls out; ‘Sunlight trickles down from the clouds into my eyes.’
An endearing, lo-fi pop record that excels when it comes to songs that tap into frustrated thoughts, simplistic romantic neuroses and general day-to-day angst.
[Rating:4]
