Cornish born and now London based Moreish Idols have a manifesto – to write solely as a group so as to allow the blending of each member’s widely divergent personalities and influences. The mix of jazz, funk, krautrock, dub and punk has led them to create a sound of their own. In January 2022, Moreish Idols laid down the four songs that would make up their debut EP Float, over an intense five day studio session spurred on by Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey. The EP is set for release on 19 August on the label.
Chaotic opening track ‘Hangar‘ began as a mistake, a chord strummed on a detuned guitar. This developed into a song about feelings of disenfranchisement and boredom that comes with the inescapable nature of late capitalism. The scuzzy static start begins calmly enough until cowbells and an off-beat saxophone of Dylan Humphries adds to the building frustration. The vocals switch between the verse of Jude Lilley and the chorus of Tom Wilson Kellet. It’s a thrilling ride and goodness knows how they play this live, such is the complexity!
Although ‘W. A. M.’ starts calmly enough and it may not have the utterly chaotic quality of ‘Hangar’ it still builds itself into a frenzy, if a little more controlled. Perfect dancefloor material. Caspar Swindells on Bass and backing vocals and Solomon Lamey on Drums and backing vocals complete the line-up for the 5-piece. To be honest they sound like they are having a blast and that comes through in the music.
‘When The Rivers Runs By’ is a whole different vibe. The saxophone is gentle and soothing and the vocal much more measured. This is summer breeze music although the lyrics are a little darker, perhaps hinting at climate change?
“When the river runs dry,
When the sun turns black,
When the pigs fly,
We’ll soon be looking back”
“The sun is up but all is sun-dried,
Begs the question, “Do you even know why?””
And to finish the EP a handbrake turn with ‘Speedboat‘. Songs can take their inspiration from anyway but I bet its the first time a song has been inspired by the postmen of Venice who use speedboats! Refreshingly quirky it begins with the fastest of guitar riffs and crashing cymbals. The vocals are light and varied, mixing sung and spoken, and that off-kilter sax towards the end simply adds another layer of spice as the track heads to its frenetic end. Jude Lilley expands on the idea for the song:
“When I was about 18 I stopped off in Venice with some friends after a festival. One hot afternoon in our grubby clothes, we managed to find a place doing pizza slices and beer for a couple of euros. Hidden away from the intimidatingly glamorous tourists we sat on a jetty and tucked into our newly purchased treats. As we were chatting away over our lunch, we were interrupted by a thumping kick drum echoing through the canal. The kick grew louder and louder until a white speedboat drifted at full speed into our view and pulled up to the jetty. EDM blasted from the boat, as a slick, well-built man in wrap around shades and a red polo shirt inspected his vast pile of parcels. He bent down, grabbed a stack and hopped off the boat. After making the drop at the house behind us, he hopped back into the motor and shot off into the canals. That’s when I knew: I wanted to be a postman in Venice.”
Jude Lilley had the following to say about the EP as a whole:
“The most exciting thing for us as a band is capturing our performances live, which something Speedy is renowned for. Everything you hear in the EP is us in the room working together as unit – apart from Dyl who recorded his take across the whole EP in one! There’s something really cool about listening back to the takes and realising ‘”his is what the room sounded like 5 minutes ago… and that’s us making the noise”. To us Float is a collage, and a demonstration of the band putting everything in the mixer and seeing what comes out (lyrics included) and it’s exactly what Dan heard before getting us involved with the label.”
For more information on Moreish Idols please check out their facebook and Speedy Wunderground’s website.
