Review: Buffet Lunch – Snap! EP
Buffet Lunch
– Snap! EP (Permanent Slump)
First of all I gotta confession to make. I downloaded this EP from
Bandcamp for free. I’m not proud, in fact I feel a bit shoddy not contributing
to Buffet Lunch’s coffers, but I temper my guilt telling myself it was for the
right reasons - a review of all things, and a chance to spread the word. If
you’re reading this and feel the urge to head over to Bandcamp and grab
yourself a copy of this nifty six-tracker, do the right thing and cough up a
quid or two. Better still invest in the cassette release. Obviously you wont be
able to play it, but you can whip it out at opportune moments and it may lead
to snogging. Who knows, but a chance worth taking?
Anyway, Buffet Lunch and their new EP. They come from a long
tradition of shambolic indie pop punkers that probably started with Dan
Treacy’s Television Personalities and takes in all sorts of homemade melody
obsessives, from Shop Assistants and Fire Engines to Polka Party. It’s a broad
church, for sure, and Buffet Lunch is in one on the pews near the back.
Probably messing about. Tsk.
First tune, Brief Pause, lopes into town on an awkward riff and a
footwear fetish – just the sort of thing to set the tone. Snap – the song –
judders and jerks like it’s 1980 and is gone, but not forgotten, in well under
two minutes. They end with a live rendition of Do You Like My Trousers (find
the original on The Snail EP from the beginning of the year) and I cant in all
honesty say the fidelity drops in anyway – but yes, I do like his trousers. In
theory I like all their trousers, though they probably wouldn’t fit me.
Jonesy
Listen: Laura Stevenson / Adult Mom split single
Laura Stevenson and Adult Mom are touring together (calm down – just US dates) and to celebrate they’ve recorded a split single covering each other’s songs - and it’s rather good.
Review: Woodford Line – Into The Night EP
Woodford
Line – Into The Night EP (Pitch Pipe Records)
Originally from Woodford County, Illinois, husband and wife Jake
and Janette Vohs have been playing together in bands since the late ‘90s, but
with Woodford Line they’ve taken the opportunity to concentrate on their own songs.
It’s a gamble of sorts to discard the comfort blanket that a group of fellow
musicians can provide, though it also allows a talent – in this case a pair of
them – to focus on their strengths and deliver their own musical ideas and
concepts, without compromise.
Their new Into The Night EP is a thoroughly entertaining collection,
laced with good humour, engaging writing and some quirky details, which provide
the duo with their own characteristics and identity - a uniqueness that’s so important
in a crowded marketplace. With the strength of their songwriting, their winning
performances, chock full of joie de vivre and good time vivacity; they’d be a
happy surprise at any roots festival or barroom of your choosing.
Of the five tracks there’s zero filler, but that doesn’t mean we
can’t draw your attention to a few highlights. Opener ‘Mary’s Got A Boyfriend’
is a rockin’ country tour-de-force with Janette taking centre-stage telling the
tale of Mary and her various romantic adventures. It’s delivered with a
tongue-in-cheek exuberance that would win over the most dedicated misery guts. The
title track is a joy, piano is at the fore, the pair share vocals and the
result isn’t unlike early Ben Folds Five, upbeat, lively and very poppy.
Finally a mention for ‘The Man I Used To Know’ - a complex, multi-layered song,
with influences than range from classic Latin styles to Al Stewart.
Rollo
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