Not my any means for the first time and I imagine not for the last, it's Darren Jones to the rescue. After the rather dispiriting experience of listening to the latest Modern Nature album early this morning, this suggestion of his of an alternative to listen to popped up among my comments on It Starts.
When Noel Redding left the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1969, he formed a band that delighted in the name of Fat Mattrass. I found a copy of one of their records in my favourite record shop one time and lifted it out of its rack and raised it to Rich, the most amiable shop assistant I know.
Rich smilingly, (he is always smiling), said it was really surprisingly good. But I'm afraid I'm a snob of a foolish kind and refuse to buy a record by anyone who has chosen to call themselve Fat Mattrass.
So I approached this album, EGG by Fat Spirit with some caution. But Darren, as he generally is, was completely right. It's excellent. Fat Spirit hail from Richmond, Virginia but sound for some reason, (which I cannot quite pin down), distinctively British. Their artwork and songcraft have a strangely medieval bent. I cannot explain why that is. I just think that it has. It makes the record mightily intriguing.
And certainly Independent. Rather than just Indie. That's become a sadly reductive term these days. Their songs rise and build with purposeful melody and grit and resolve themselves with no little endeavour. They sound ultimately, like themselves. If you wish to discover more, I suggest you explore this record for yourselves. Thanks as ever Darran. You shouldn't have. But I'm very glad that you did.
Happy birthday, Bruce! My pleasure, glad you liked it. It was a random discovery, but I really like it. Have played it a few times over the last few days.
ReplyDeleteIf you need another one for an emergency, try the new Grass Jaw album. Folkish post-punk? Reminds me of early REM with his vocals, too, at times.
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