This is a re-issue of the 2020 album by Burning Islands Mathias Kom and Ariel Sharrat that sold out on release, then kind of got lost in the pandemic mists, so that the duo are finally ready to tour this album in celebration of its re-issue, the UK leg begins this week in time for this re-issue alongside a new EP.
The album opens with the sweet duet of Never Work as they make sure we know they believe you should never give in, never be part of the system and get a job. Which is all well and good if you have the means to support yourself without work, but this song is being hopeful of a day when you won't need to toil to get what you need to live a good life, over the bucolic indie folk.
Monitors is far sparser almost not there backing as Ariel's vocals take us through several moods as she tells us about that rather angry memo everyone got by mistake, as another company gets out sourced to Brazil, this is a slow-motion tantrum and collapse as everything is turned off.
Everything For Everyone is the first song that sounds a lot like a Burning Hell song, with low-fi basic synths and instrumentation as this deep dark duet looks at the coming apocalypse and goes to update the Linked in profile, as all sorts of images are thrown at us.
Rise Up Alexa is a song encouraging Alexa to lead the revolution, to rise up and overthrow its master's as they ask all sorts of questions of Alexa that most of us wouldn't ask it, Alexa provides some of the answers over the Spanish folk influenced song brings us closer to the robot insurrection.
The Rich Stuff is glorious memories of seeing The Goonies with Mathias' dad and how the film affected his outlook on life, realizing there was more to the film than his childhood mind could figure out, the rose-tinted shades are off, but the calm music doesn't let on to how we will bring about a fairer society.
Two Jeffs is a folk tale of two blokes working in Wendy's and what happens when one of them answers an ad, while the other gets fixated on a rain forest, how he can turn that name into a billion dollar business, becoming a hugely rich evil genius, while his friend carries on struggling from one tough job to another thankfully no Mutton gets eaten during this song.
The Robots V Mrs Patel is a very 2020's tale of workplace travails, as Mrs Patel gets replaced by a self-service checkout machine. I am 100% on Mrs Patel's side, as I refuse to use those machines, if possible, using shops that don't have them. The song has some cool twists Vive Mrs Patel.
Talking Gig Economy Blues is an updating of the talking blues style, with a live intro explaining the style as he slowly wanders into it like an early Dylan monologue style, as the reality of the gig economy becomes clearer, the drugs the pain, the lifestyle of the music industry.
I Don't Mind Failing well of course not, as we all spend large parts of our lives failing to live up to others' expectations of us, this has the feel of a Weavers style duet, I almost expect a shout out to Nancy Whiskey as they admit to their shortcomings.
(Untitled Alexa's Coda) is some more replies from everyone's new best friend Alexa about the album you've just been listening too.
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