ladies and gentlemen: the truant accord

August 28, 2011 at 7:28 pm | Posted in fencing flatworm, midwich, new music, no audience underground | Leave a comment
Tags: ashtray navigations, drone, fencing flatworm recordings, ffr, improv, michael clough, midwich, midwich for sale, new music, no audience underground, noise, phil todd, prp group, rancid poultry

Truant – The Truant Accord (Memoirs of a Flatworm)

Radio Free Midwich is delighted to announce the release of the long lost second album by Truant.  Yes, Phil Todd’s Memoirs of an Aesthete dug up the decaying remains of fencing flatworm recordings and a terrible act of deviant union took place.  The resulting unholy hybrid – Memoirs of a Flatworm – exists only to present this forgotten masterwork in a strictly limited run of 100 CD-rs. 

The Truant Accord was recorded ten years ago by Michael Clough of prog legends Rancid Poultry and PRP Group, the aforementioned Phil Todd of Ashtray Navigations and myself of midwich ‘fame’.  An extended history of the Truant phenomenon can be read here whilst you listen to an mp3 of our first album, released on FFR.  The post includes an entertainingly misremembered account (from me) of why such a high quality recording was left to gather dust, followed by corrections from the less brain-damaged members of the group (Phil and Cloughy).

Anyway, no matter, for it is here now.  What you get for your money is a short, squawky noise intro to confuse the casual listener (hey, it worked for Oneohtrix Point Never) then we launch into… well, I’ll let Joe Posset, RFM’s North-East correspondent, take it from here:

But then all of a sudden the guitar, bass explore, electronics and keyboard all settle into a summer afternoon vibe (‘New river apple’)…it’s all jasmine scented air and warm cobbles.  It puts me in mind of groups like ‘Stars of the Lid’.  All about exploring the drone but with a Ravi Shankar record in their back pocket at the same time.  ‘Mollusca’ is like one of those boiling mud pits in some Forbidden Planet scenario…or even a Bleep & Booster tribute.  The absence of drums lifts these tracks pretty damn high without no anchor to weigh things down.  The real gravy comes with the 10 min plus of ‘Animal Kingdom’ featuring some wacked-out guitar slalom bending and stretching all over itself; ever questing, never peaking.  I’m guessing this is Mr Phil Todd throwing the crazy shapes here…why on earth people make such a fuss of all that Pink Floyd shit when you have faded-empire whimsy and mind-expanding string worrying right here on yr door step I’ll never know.  This is a fine example of English psychedelia and no mistake.

Why, thank you Joe, much appreciated (more can be read at his blog too – look out for Posset on tour in October)!  This CD-r, packaged in a space-saving plastic wallet with Phil’s brain-frying full-colour cover, can be had for the bargain price of £6 from Ashtray HQ.  Also available (finally!) is Ashtray Navigation’s amazing Cinderella Stamps which was highly praised recently on this very blog.  G’wan – buy both because they will make you happy.