|
THE
CRACK MAGAZINE: FEB 2004 ALBUM
OF THE MONTH
Keith
Mills/Nick Montgomery
Tales
from the Shed, Parts One and Two
These
two albums of diverse, highly original music are the creation of
local musician/producer Keith Mills, alongside assorted
collaborators. Many
influences are thrown into the melting pot here, and what emerges is
a heady mix of tracks that encompass elements of folk, drum ’n
bass, electronica, rock and world music.
So not easy to pigeon-hole then.
Always a good thing. Broadly
speaking, live instrumentation meets synths and samplers, with
impressive results.
Firstly
Part One: ‘Robinson is Cruising’ is a nicely sparse acoustic
groove complemented by beautiful, floaty, Orbital-esque female
vocals. ‘Don’t Go Out Alone’ takes a 165 bpm kick drum, adds a
didgeridoo growl, some excellent guitar licks, and a weird tribal
vocal to create a freaky kind a abo-hardcore.
Mental. ‘Seven
Eight’ is a great track, an insistent Spanishy guitar loop over a
stuttering drum ’n bass break.
Elsewhere, Afro-scat vocals collide with funky basslines
(‘1st Time for Everything’), and discordant piano
fugures meet monumental strings (‘Augury’).
As
for Part Two, the production is far more accomplished, and live
strings add a depth previously absent.
‘Feet of Clay’ kicks things off nicely, an enchanting
arrangement of piano, violin, and exquisite vocals with a splash of
melancholia. ‘Some
Days are Elastic’ continues in a similarly tuneful vein, as does
‘A Skull of Foxes’. If
you like Air, Stereolab and Broadcast, you’ll like those tracks.
Truly superb music. Other
highlights include the cinematic ‘The Far Side of Town’, and the
wonderfully evocative ‘Cullercoats’.
All in all, ambitious, soulful, immensely enjoyable stuff.
DF
Out
now & available from HMV, Roots, Steel Wheels,
ravenrecording.com
|
