Not exactly an EP or LP, but quite possibly a ‘mini-LP’? Whatever. Getting hung up on the format is kinda redundant when the music contained within sounds this good.
There are 11 tracks spread over the two sides of this deluxe 10” vinyl and two excitingly disparate combos from the ever-creative Hackney manor slugging it out. If, like me, you take a punt on THE DUBLO first, you won’t be disappointed. Led by feisty stand-up bassist/ smoky vocalist Rowan Lambourne-Gibbs, they do their revisionist blues thang with murderous aplomb. Both the tough ‘n ‘tasty ‘One Way Blues’ and the gritty instrumental ‘Yer Zero Blues’ are a little reminiscent of Morphine but with a manic, slide-guitar toting cousin on hand to inject some slow-release poison. Sandwiched in between, ‘Baby Don’t Blues’ is a sly, silky after-hours torch song which shows wherein Rowan gets all lonesome and blue and The Dublo show us they can slow it down with the best of ‘em.
Enticing though The Dublo are, MONKEY ISLAND are another flaming Molotov cocktail altogether. Opening with the fierce, frantic wisdom of ‘Back St High St’ (“rat runs down the High Street/ cat bites off its tail/ rat takes stock, opens shop”), their eight, brain-flaying tracks making up ‘Defunctus Est’ add up to a disorienting – and brilliant – sensory overload.
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Taut, molten rushes of sound (‘The Narroway’, ‘Thee Absurd’) recall ace, spiky weirdos like Death By Milkfloat or Bob Tilton, while the scabrous instrumental ‘Sing For Ye Buns’ makes like a genetic mutation of early Sabbath and The Futureheads. The closing ‘Citkom’ is about as close to a linear garage punk anthem as they get, but it’s all done and dusted after a seethingly brief 1 minute and 11 seconds. Just right in this case, I’d say.
So let’s recap. ‘Defunctus Est’/ ‘Baby Don’t Blues EP’ is available on deluxe 10” vinyl, each is a hand-cut master and individually numbered, and there’s even an exclusive download code lobbed in for all lovers of this blasted modern technology caper. All that on top of such truly incendiary music? Come on, what’s not to love here?
Hear The Dublo at Bandcamp
Listen to Monkey Island at Bandcamp
L-13 Recordings online
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