Spacier, druggier and more (ahem, sorry) “pastoral”; full of semi acoustic strums, passages of phaser and tappety drums. A music perfect for hunting crop circles.
Spacier, druggier and more (ahem, sorry) “pastoral”; full of semi acoustic strums, passages of phaser and tappety drums. A music perfect for hunting crop circles.
(V2 Benelux) http://www.dominorecordco.com http://archiebronsonoutfit.com
I have a test with new records; I stick them on in my local, “The WW”* in Leiden, where “obliging owner” Adrie gives me the low down on whether he thinks an LP is any good or not. The exchange is a bit like a focus meeting on the results of a social media survey, but personal; and with the fruits of the vintner’s trade close to hand. Now we both agreed that the new Archie Bronson record has something. Neither of us could place what. But it has a lot going for it without revealing too much, or being easily pigeonholed which is weird in a way because it’s patently an Archie Bronson record with all the building blocks of their sound there to see. You see, to my mind, it’s a slippery record.
Yep, slippery, evasive, hovering around in your presence without really making itself felt. I’ve played Wild Crush tons; probably because I feel I haven’t played it enough. But yet I’ve played it nearly every day which must mean something, I think. You see, whilst Wild Crush certainly doesn’t have that immediate, “salty” impact of anything they have done before (especially in that “I’ll slap your chops” way like Fur, Derdang Derdang or Coconut do) it just sticks about in your mind. Maybe that’s the sign of its success; a back seat driver of a record containing infuriatingly catchy (and infuriatingly short and understated) earworms like Country Miles, or Glory Sweat and Flow, a gloopy, sliding psych shuffle that boasts the most brilliant steal of the refrain from I’ll Be Your Mirror. Cheeky, but lovable. And you just can’t begrudge them the impertinence.
There are recognizable Archie Bronson tracks that hark back to earlier things; Hunch Your Body, Love Somebody could come off Derdang Derdang and opening pair Two Doves on a Lake and In White Relief, are groovy wig outs with one eye on predecessor Coconut. But on the whole the record (and there are clues in titles like We Are Floating and Lori From The Outer Reaches) is spacier, druggier and more (ahem, sorry) “pastoral”; full of semi acoustic strums, passages of phaser and tappety drums. A music perfect for hunting crop circles.
So, in summary; simple, packed with tunes that are easy to hum along to, full of classic 60s flourishes, laid back and sunny, never looking to invade your space… this summation, I can see on reading back, makes Wild Crush sound fucking awful. It isn’t, it’s a gem, and another string to their formidable bow.
*Meaning the Department of Social Security. Why drink anywhere else?