Review:'Ladybug Transistor' 'The Albermarle Sound'
- Label: 'Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records'
- Genre: 'Nineties'
- Release Date: '8.11.24.'- Catalogue No: 'HHBTM232'
Our Rating:
This is the 25th anniversary re-issue of Ladybug Transistors classic third album Albemarle Sound that they recorded in the bands communal house Marlborough Farms in Flatbush. Ladybug Transistor are led by Gary Olson and his housemates Sasha Bell, San Fadyl, Jeff and Jennifer Baron and Julia Rydholm. While the album is actually about the bands own surroundings I will transpose some of the songs into being about Albemarle Street in London just off of Piccadilly in Mayfair.
The album opens with the super short Oriental Boulevard like an amuse bouche intro into the band's sound.
Six Times is brass led with lots of snare, sort of chamber indie, they manage to get woken up just before the alarm goes off, with an argument coming through the walls from next door, words about closets overflowing and other minutiae of petty differences exploding first thing in the morning, before a cool trumpet tries to bring calm and rationality to the early morning.
Meadowport Arch is the first song to mention the Albemarle sound and closed roads, which is apposite for how often the roads around Albemarle Street in London are closed, this has a lazy hazy early 70's bucolic folk-rock sound, with the odd psychedelic twist too it. They may be chasing the surf, but I am seeing the archway that leads into the Burlington arcade.
Today Knows is a string laden paean to the glories of today, back in 1999, even though in sound it harks back to the late 60's and early 70's, flutes and strings accent the tale unfolding in the lyrics.
The Great British Spring sounds perfect to stroll along Albemarle street and pop into Browns hotel, sitting down for a chat with Princess Irene about her horses, listening to any of her fantastic tales, that the brass on this tune would illustrate perfectly.
Like A Summer Rain may have come out in 1999 but is perfect for 2024 a year in which in London at least it rained almost every single day of summer at some point, while sounding like the link between Belle & Sebastian and The Divine Comedy, while the backing vocal harmonies owe a small debt to the Beach Boys.
The Swimmer is evocative of the magnificently creepy film The Swimmer, while thankfully not getting quite as inebriated along the way, the super gentle piano line is in no way as dark as that films slowly building menace.
Cienfuegos is a super delicate western epic soundtrack, to some hombres galloping across the pampas chased by trumpets, it slows down, almost like they have arrived at some awful scene they can't quite comprehend, tear-stained dismay at the crackling fire before them.
The Automobile Song is organ led praise for the magical age of the Automobile that has an almost medieval folk song approach musically.
Oceans In The Hall is a song truly ahead of its times, they discuss the rising sea levels washing away a town, something that seems to be far more prevalent, the soft strings and gentle percussion allow the backing vocals to sound more like an eulogy for everything lost in the flooding.
Vale Of Cashmere is as soft as the sort of cashmere sweater you can buy on Albemarle Street if you can afford it, this is as luxurious a sound as they can get, lustrous modern classical music.
Alieda's Theme could easily be the introduction to a super dark film, imagery sets up a super dark hammer House of Horror style film, the music wouldn't be out of place on one of those classic movies.
The first of the bonus songs on the expanded cd version is a cover of The Bee Gees classic Massachusetts that slows the song down a touch, transforming it into a gorgeous chamber pop masterclass, making this one of the finest Bee Gees Covers since Jennifer Warnes sang In The Morning, this is simply magnificent.
Oriental Boulevard (Piano & Voice Mix) stretches the tune out to 29 seconds adding an extra 6 seconds of magic. While Six Times (Full Length Version) is a minute and a half longer allowing the listener to really wallow in all the magical bras and string sumptuousness of this early morning fracas.
Liker A Summer Rain (Instrumental) is a really lush piece of modern classical chamber pop with the odd twist, very pretty, the shock of the summer rain patters away. The piano fragment strips things back to work as a coda for the main instrumental version.
Oceans In The Hall (Instrumental Rough Mix) has a sparser feel, they were obviously figuring out what else to adorn the music with, to make it even more beautiful than it already is.
Cienfuegos (Piano Version) sounds like it should be a Charles Bronson western soundtrack, with sun blasted terrain, a hazy yellow with saturated colours, the music breaks down to the central piano line, that has cadences of John Cale's soundtrack work.
Today Knows (4 Track Demo) could easily be from the late 60's Laurel Canyon folk sound, the vocals are almost whispered in your ear.
Oceans In The Hall (4 Track Demo) is full of glorious trumpets and calm vocals, explaining the horror of the coming floods, washing away the town as the sea levels rise. This is beguiling in how it juxtaposes dreadful events with beautiful music.
Meadowport Arch (4 Track Demo) takes the Albemarle sound to the parade ground of Horse Guards parade with gentle piano for the vocals to carefully emote in sparsely intriguing ways.
Six Times (4 Track Demo) has a more experimental feel to the completed version, but the trumpets still lead us into this song of clutter and hoarding with all the fun of how experimental the drum sound gets.
The album closes with Mystery Track a minute or so of strings lulling us to rest at the end of a magical experience.
Find Out More at https://www.hhbtm.com/product/the-ladybug-transistor-the-ablemarle-sound/ https://www.facebook.com/ladybug.transistor/ https://www.instagram.com/theladybugtransistor/ https://theladybugtransistor.bandcamp.com/album/the-albemarle-sound-25th-anniversary-expanded-edition
