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Review: 'That Petrol Emotion'
'Babble'   

-  Label: 'Past Night From Glasgow'
-  Genre: 'Eighties' -  Release Date: '24.6.22.'-  Catalogue No: 'PNFG18'

Our Rating:
This is the 35th anniversary re-issue of That Petrol Emotions second album Babble, that will never be the best album with that title, as I love the Kevin Coyne/Dagmar Krause album too much for that. When this album first came out it sort of passed me by, no matter how many times I met and partied with Steve Mack or saw That Petrol Emotion live at the time I somehow failed to buy the album.

That Petrol Emotion were formed out of the ashes of The Undertones by John O'Neil and Raymond Gorman who recruited Cairan McLaughlin, Steve Mack and Damian O'Neill.

The album opens with Swamp this is indeed good and swampy indie rock that could easily be a celebration of road protests as they go down into that Swamp with some twanging guitars and death rock drums and Steve Mack's vocals that go a bit too Ian Astbury for my tastes.

Spin Cycle has just enough of a goth indie crossover sound to work as they tell us their hair is a mess. For What It's Worth is slow and careful thoughts about how bad things have gotten just as the guitars go all psychedelic in bursts.

Big Decision is the first song on the album that I really recognize as having heard it back in the day, this in many ways sounds like a blueprint for the sound that The Stone Roses became known for although this had a slightly more dance-oriented edge to it with that revolving guitar sound and the effects firing things up as it strangely fades out in the middle of the rap.

Static tells us they won't remain Static and are happy to move onto the next lover, the bass drum does some cool things in this as the simple guitar riff repeats throughout.

Split is more urgent and angry sounding with lots of yelps and tribal western drumming and the sounds of bullets whizzing by. Belly Bags has vocals that seem almost at odds with the funky indie guitar rock but somehow it just about all works as the music goes all cartoon and wacky with some computer games noises and other weird bits.

In The Playpen takes Gang Of Four style angular guitars adds in some yelped backing vocals and drums at odds with everything to come up with an intoxicating blend that anyone with a mind like a playgroup should be attracted too.

Inside is another of the more familiar songs on the album, but that could be about where they stole the guitar line from. This is a slow meander through a broken world as they look for a less bitter twisted world to live in.

Chester Burnette is a Howling great tribute to the man himself Howling Wolf, that takes a riff that could be from A Certain Ratio, howled vocals and tribal drumming, to make a song that you could easily not realize was about a Blues legend.

Creeping To The Cross opens like it want to be a dancefloor smash with a bit of a Rocks edge to it and a James Bond style bassline and often breathy vocals that make them sound like they've been partying with Carter USM.

The first of the bonus tracks on the bonus second album is Big Decision (Extended Mix) that I think was the version they often played at the club nights at The Venue in New Cross, it also shows far more influence of 80's rap records than the album version does.

Swamp (Extended) ups the guitars as we get deep into that Swamp. Creeping To The Cross (7") is impassioned song about the bands devilish side coming out to play, with funky indie jangle guitars and lots of odd noises and an early techno rave drumbeat.

Soul Beat (7" B-side) is the one song that sounds like it's a straight ahead love song, although thankfully it's not at all soppy, as they explain why they want to get Soul Deep with you.

The album closes with Dance Your Ass Off (B-side) is a proper bass heavy Indie rave-up that sounds like Primal Scream stole from wholesale as they re-work a ZZ Top song into this massive floor filler.

Find out more from https://shop.lastnightfromglasgow.com/collections/past-night-from-glasgow/products/that-petrol-emotion-babble-35th-annversary-vinyl-lp-coming-soon https://www.facebook.com/thatpetrolemotionoffical


  author: simonovitch

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