Tuesday, June 16, 2009

SCREAMING TEA PARTY – GOLDEN BLUE (STOLEN RECORDINGS)


SCREAMING TEA PARTY – GOLDEN BLUE (STOLEN RECORDINGS)

Screaming Tea Party make it a tough thing to like their record. You cast a blind eye/ear over the frisky guitar sound of the first song (a sound you have heard many times before) in preference to concentrating on the vocal delivery that has some kick individuality to it but then the song changes tact/gear and falls face first into a muddy bank of cliché. I swear.

Undeterred the record carries on and things genuinely improve as spacious sounds intercept the straight line of the guitar on this seven song frenzy. Honestly the opening track “I’d Rather Be Stuck” was just a blip on the radar.

“Car Crash Beauties” follows and offers much more with fizzy, dark and frenetic option that leans more towards a scratchy, post-punk edge complete with distinctly Japanese indecipherable vocals. The band then later display Gang Of Four-esqe tendencies on “The Witch From Oregon” which aptly climaxes with jarring industrial sounding guitars that cause discomfort.

There is a real depth and wealth of different sounds on offer here. The title track of the album sounds very much like Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Its weird. Then “Holy Disaster” arrives at track five supplying a huge bag full of Beach Boy-esqe harmonies.

“Today Is The Day” is where it all comes together the best. Staunchly reminding me of a great lost band called Superstar Disco Club, it sounds very much like Macrocosmica and Urusei Yatsura and that long missed late nineties anthemic sound of fraggle rock. Proceedings here are upbeat and the track benefits from not being clear just as to which language the song is being sung in.

The overriding impression given from this record and selection box of treats is that this is a great band with a great record in them but sadly this is just not it. Next time maybe. Hopefully.

Thesaurus moment: jejune.

Screaming Tea Party
Screaming Tea Party live
Stolen Recordings

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