On the album’s cover, David Palfreyman looks like a badass: shot in moody black and white, he’s lighting a cigarette, his features rugged, the face of a man who’s lived. The interior of the cover depicts a bottle of wine and some cigs, French and Czech respectively, indicative of a certain cosmopolitanism, and the 12 tracks that comprise ‘Radio Magnetofon’ suggest that this is art informed by life.
There’s a proper, old-school punky bite to the guitars that saw through the opener ‘Why Do You Do the Things You Do?’ and it’s a strong start that sets the tone: the vintage rock ‘n’ roll boogie of ‘Psycho Pretty’ fits the ‘classic’ mold, and in both the songwriting and delivery, there are strong hints of Elvis Costello.
|
Cutty, treble-edged guitars cascade in here and there courtesy of Stephen Palfreyman, whose contributions on keyboard and percussion are deft and sensitive to the songs:‘This Goodness’ has a vintage r’n’b vibe with a rough ‘n’ ready garage edge and rocks good ‘n’ proper, while closer ‘A Strangled Tonic With Ice’ is a superb piece of theatrical art rock.
In all, it’s clear Malf’s got game, and ‘Radio Magnetofone’ is accessible without lacking edge.
Malf Online
|
