There is something filmic about the music too. Despite the minimalism implied by titles such as opener Absolutely Nothing there is a warmth to the tracks.
The Bouys – Grillo Parlante
http://www.bathysphere.co.uk/ www.myspace.com/thebuoysgb
Leicester has, of course, a fine musical heritage including such luminaries as, erm, Showaddywaddy, err, Mark ‘Return of the Mack’ Morrison and, um the bassist from Queen. This sounds like none of the above, but is rather a finely crafted suite of ambient electronica. Grillo Parlante (which translates as ‘the talking cricket’) was the Italian name for their version of the Speak and Spell, which perhaps reveals something of where the interest in the possibilities producing sound from circuitry came from.
Rather than a piece of electronic childhood kitsch, however, the cover is adorned with a movie projector. This is an apt choice as the three men involved – Chris Cousin, Stu Smith and Steve Gibbs – have all done soundtrack and audio-visual work for film and for those arty installations of the sort that get the Daily Mail upset when they get government funding/nominated for the Turner prize. There is something filmic about the music too. Despite the minimalism implied by titles such as opener Absolutely Nothing there is a warmth to the tracks.
It seems strange that a band from the Midlands (which is about as far as you can get from the sea in Britain) should name themselves after something utilised in open water. There is something contradictory, too, at the album’s core – somehow they’ve captured splendour amid the sparseness of the arrangements and there’s richness in their minimalist approach. There is a very organic feel to the tracks, even amid bursts of static.
This is a finely crafted and very rewarding album. Even if none of the tracks can compete with the seminal Under the Moon of Love or I Want to Break Free. Who knew that the town that gave us Gary Lineker could be so interesting?
Words: Rover