OR   Search for Artist/Title    Advanced Search
 
you are not logged in...  [login] 
All Reviews    Edit This Review     
Review: 'Gist, The'
'Interior Window'   

-  Label: 'Tiny Global Productions'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: '17.7.20.'

Our Rating:
This is an album of mainly previously unreleased recordings from one of Stuart Moxham's Young Marble Giants spin offs, The Gist mainly recorded in the early 80's, with the Gist's first single actually being recorded at the same sessions as the last Young Marble Giants single.

The opening song The Yanks was originally the b-side to the band's first single and has odd timings almost like the guitars are playing something different to the bass or In a different timing, yet the vocals that sound like they have some reverb or similar on them to make them almost sound echo laden are also on a different tack it's cool and right by being wrong.

Stones And Sunlight #2 has hi-life style guitar picking and what sound like animal noises as back ground vocals for the female singer to sing a reasonably normal indie pop song this is odd in all sorts of cool ways like the Bhundu Boys covering Lush.

Being True (Band Version) is more sort of straight ahead psychedelic indie pop with some delicious keyboards and Stuart's cool vocals.

This Is Love has some really lovely vocals that are often seemingly at a tangent to what's going on with the music with a sort of funky bass line and some odd guitar figures this really feels like a demo until you hear the wondrous guitar part towards the end and yes this was the band's first singles a-side.

Greener Grass almost feels like they are trying for a dub style sound but with a primitive drum machine and some odd synth sounds it weirdly draws you in.

Public Girls (demo) does sound like it could do with some more adornment while also sounding like The Vaselines in places a good few years before they started but then it goes off on an odd journey that includes synths being played like a church organ and weirdly played guitar.

How To Be starts as a doo wop pop song with an organ and bongo backing while vocally sounding like Stuart is trying to sound like Johnathan Richman singing The Morning Of Our Lives.

The Landmark has a cricket chirping type of sound and as ever oddly played bass and guitar and almost mumblecore vocals.

C Me is a short Piano interlude in the style of Satie that gives way to Working It Out a piano led piece of chamber pop that has the air of some of Kevin Ayers early 70's meanderings.

You Were The One is more hi life guitar with indie pop vocals that would probably work just as well on a 60's power pop backing as much as the backing they have.

Unsettled Hash uses synths in a similar way to The Metal Boys for a minute or so interlude.

Here Comes Love #2 is plaintive and musically nicely insistent as Stuart tells us Here Comes Love and this feels like it might just persuade you.

Piano Piece is just that a lovely piano solo for a minute. Stones & Sunlight #3 is a lush string laden version that is full on chamber pop and just sounds great the most obviously poppy thing on the album and it almost sounds like they have invented Belle & Sebastian's sound.

The album ends with Mistakes In Love a garage rock song that sounds like it wants to be on a Nuggets compilation this is a great fun song about love falling apart.

Find out more at https://thegist.bandcamp.com/album/interior-windows https://www.facebook.com/moxhamstuart/

  author: simonovitch

[Show all reviews for this Artist]

READERS COMMENTS    10 comments still available (max 10)    [Click here to add your own comments]

There are currently no comments...
----------