Fake Tan
Pieces (Floppy)
A rummage through the loft shows that as suspected, this East Lothian outfit did indeed feature on an is this music? CD some 5 years ago. That piece of detective work along with the album notes (I’d say ‘sleeve’ but since the release comes wrapped in a haggis pizza box with a ‘nonconforming goods’ stamp that might be pushing it a bit) tells us a bit about this album, though quite why it’s taken so long to put together is another matter.
Part of the delay may be the way the band work - “recorded on phone, 4 track… in boxrooms, attics… in Prestonpans, East Linton, Stow…” it’s quite a sonic jigsaw. To learn more about the mermerising opening track ‘Patty’ we find that “Niko” in Greece sent tracks recorded by his band’s drummer.
And so it goes. A largely instrumental album, we’re fooled by the dulcet, Naomi-esque whispered vocal from Nikki which proceeds in a dream-like state until in time-honoured post-rock fashion guitars and drums courtesy of Gasgiant’s Mic kick in.
And hopefully the band won’t mind the mention of post-rock here, but in fact there’s more to them than that. Short interludes like ‘Skinderella’ are simply lovely guitar instrumentals in any genre, while ‘Rat Poison’ is all cellos, a looming juggernaut of a tune that threatens to explode but never quite makes it, perhaps fooling us into whispering the ‘P’ word again.
Again the sleevenotes sum things up fairly well - “intro additional but too late” typical of the random nature of, well, everything about Pieces.
‘I’m Not Mowgli I’m a Girl’ perhaps closes to the Mogwai (not Mowgli stereotype, all meandering guitar lines and processed “1 note mooger guitar”. In all an immersive, headphones-on experience, best enjoyed in a darkened room.
Donald Bush
