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Review: 'PRESCOTT'
'One Did'   

-  Label: 'Slowfoot Records'
-  Genre: 'Ambient' -  Release Date: '28th April 2014'-  Catalogue No: 'slocd023'

Our Rating:
Taking their name from the outspoken former Labour MP John Prescott you might expect to hear some abrasive rabble rousing post-punk antics here. All the more so after learning that the band are the brainchild of Kev Hopper, ex-bassist with eccentric 80s indie band Stump. But think again. While the spirit is defiant and unconventional, the all-instrumental tunes seem to be pitched more towards a arty lounge sound.

Since his Stump years, Hopper has made some solo albums, been part of laptop quartet Ticklish and, as the cover image shows, can also turn his hand to painting.

Now he appears to be in such a jazzed-up mood that he's not too bothered if he alienates audiences or not. His instruction to his band is to "play till it feels uncomfortable".

A track like Reversal gives hints of how irritatingly repetitive these minimalist 'micro-riffs' can be, I imagine they stretch the patience even more in a live context.

Hopper's fellow conspirators are Slowfoot label boss Frank Byng on drums and Scritti Politti's Rhodri Marsden on guitar and keyboards. Together they have a studied aversion to anything that sounds too slick and tasteful; Marsden's keyboard interventions are particularly disruptive. Didism is a prime example of how discordant and cheesy they can be when they try.   

The skanking beats of Two Words Ruder point to reggae influences but pigeon-holing this album is a thankless task. Philby Files even has shades of a spaghetti western soundtrack thanks to a guesting saxophone trio (The Remote Viewer Ensemble) and twangy guitar.

The band manage to keep you guessing right to the end, the album closes with an improvised piano solo version of Didism called One Done as though trying to fool punters into thinking that there is some method in their madness.
  author: Martin Raybould

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PRESCOTT - One Did