SWELL MAPS - C21 LP

Highly recommended.

Half a century ago a bunch of suburban school mates from Solihull banded together to form one of the most DIY and lo-fi of groups ever. With crazy names like Biggles Books and Phones B Sportsmen they created songs with equally mad titles like Midget Submarines, Helicopter Spies and Read About Seymour. The songs were submerged beneath a fuzzy din made up of hoovers, wind up toys and all sorts of paraphernalia and yet against all the odds the amazingly catchy tunes fought their way to the surface. And how. Though Swell Maps’ flame flickered only briefly before splitting in 1980 they developed instant cult status and influenced a whole generation of bands to follow from Thrilled Skinny to Sonic Youth and from Stereolab to even Nirvana and Blur. And now they are back… Kind of…

It is important to set the scene because this is a very hard act to follow in the second incarnation of Swell Maps, not just the passage of time but because two of the three main driving forces, Nikki Sudden and his brother Epic Soundtracks, are sadly no longer with us. But the moment Swell Maps’ original Jowe Head and his all-star band of musicians roar into their first fuzzy masterpiece, A Morning Star, any concerns are absolutely blown out of the water.

Foam Rubber Wedding, Vertical Take-Off and Landing, Saved By The Warts the titles and themes are totally picking up from the C20 albums A Trip To Marineville and Jane From Occupied Europe. Some of the songs actually date back to that time but have never seen the light of day before. It’s wonderful to hear Epic Soundtracks’ surprisingly moving keyboard ballad Jelly Babies re-crafted in the hands of Lucie Rejchrtova (Crazy World of Arthur Brown). That all star cast includes members of Wolfhounds, the Auteurs and Alternative TV and Television Personalities.

The most important comeback of the year.