First full length album in 6 years and there may actually be a sigh of relief that The Meads are not tackling anything biblical or historical this time around and are just running…. They do seem to go down hugely constructed routes that take a massive amount of background reading to make sense of but this time around band leader Metatron doesn’t seem to have written one of his sprawling codices but has left it that this collection of songs “leap across the world, feeding on the idiocy of humanity”. Actually when you think about just how bloody stupid humanity is; well there could still be a write-up coming when the mood strikes the muse. For the moment though we can just embrace the music and the mish-mash of genres that are all lovingly crammed into a Meads album, willy-nilly if you were but somehow gelling together. Don’t worry about this not being epic. I have been trying to get my noggin around this 65 minute album for the past two weeks and it will fair do your brain in. Luckily the musical nuances and sounds identifiable to this unique group do shine through and these tales of “magnificent madness” persuasively and perhaps even annoyingly get in the space between your ears and simply refuse to let you go.
The end of the world could well be a theme here as we are ushered uncouthly into ‘Bug Splat’ by the vocalist like we have stepped back 40 years to the birth of punk rock. Rough around the edges as usual the production takes a bit of getting used to, let’s face it these miscreants will never be able to afford the best recording studios and equipment but what they have creates a mental fusion of drums, guitar, keyboards, raw vocals and some machinery stolen from a local hospital. Heart attack induced things calm a tad as ‘I Am Oblivion, Deep Drenched In Forever’ takes psychedelic orchestral elements and occasionally actually sounds nice melody wise and even chills with some acoustic guitar parts courtesy of James Tait. Additional to core trio of Metatron, Tait and drummer Andre Kjelbergvik Thung , female vocals crop up occasionally and Hawkwind / Gunslinger Alan Davey contributes bass again as well as there being an expanded line up for saxophone, violin and keyboards
The title song alone crams more in than most bands careers and there is a host of other things to keep you involved such as looking for deeper meanings of song titles such as ‘Black Is Black & White Is White.’ There’s even a bit of barber-shop type vocal harmony on this one just in case anyone had completely lost the plot and nodded out and there is no shortage of scratching appendages whilst they suddenly blat out some funky riffs and blast-beats. Apart from being a great title ‘Cockroach Marionettes’ is possibly the most errr accessible moment for a first time listener to introduce themselves to the band before running away shouting and screaming. A punky ballast, meandering instrumental noodling and some good metallic riffs and melody all spur this one along. Crass, Chumbawamba ancient disco, ethnic beats and Jimmy Pedo Saville all pop up on ‘I Stood Tiptoe, Reaching Up For Heaven’ and things are far from normal. Another thing this lot seem to manage uniquely are songs that sound like they could have escaped from a summer of love musical with the cast running around naked and police sitting taking notes in hope of busting it for obscenity. There’s a couple of examples of this found here in my mind but that’s not saying I’m right in the slightest. If however you listen to ‘The Broken Wings Of A Hud Hud’ you may well pick up on that vibe (man) and if not still enjoy what can only be described as a jolly song.
There’s so much going on here that it is possibly just as well it is the first album in a long time, it will at least keep you occupied for a month of Sunday’s. We haven’t even mentioned the subtle jazz hands of penultimate track Recollections Of A Hand Loom-Weaver, which in itself seems to be referencing a biographical book by Scottish Weaver / Poet William Thom. The intricacies and prog tendencies that this one moves into may have made it my favourite track but next time I play the album I will probably have changed my mind again. After an extended bout of on off cramming I’m not sure when exactly that may be and it is probably not the best way to consume an album like this. In fact I think a lie down is definitely called for.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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