Now, I love Cardiacs. I think they're the most underrated band in the world - and possibly the most unique. Hailing from England, their music is classed mostly under the genre "pronk." That is, progressive punk. However, Cardiacs frontman, Tim Smith prefers to either call themselves psychedelic or pop. Personally, I haven't heard anything as far removed from pop as this, but, okay...
The leader of the band, Tim Smith is regarded as a musical genius by many musicians, and has influenced a great many, despite his relative unknownness among the general population. A crime I say it is, a damn crime.
The first album of theirs that I'm going to review is one from 1995 - their seventh album, as it happens.
This monster of a double album was their second album after the departure of most of their classic lineup from the 80s. Officially, the band was now known as a quartet, as opposed to the classic lineup of six members. The band on Sing To God was Tim Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Jim Smith (bass, vocals), Jon Poole (guitar, keyboard, vocals) and Bob Leith (drums, vocals).
Now, before I get into the songs themselves, just take a good look at the album cover art as shown above. Clearly no normal people are behind the conception of this album. Let that be a forewarning as to what is to come.
Disc 1
01 - Eden On The Air (2:21)
And the very beginning of this insane album is... calming chimes. They quickly fade away, then came back again, now sounding a bit more synthesised. Then Smith starts singing, accompanied by piano. At certain vocal intervals, an odd chorus joins him that sounds like children on helium. The chimes and the weird chorus give this a real psychedelic feel. This pattern continues until a sad sounding chord progression comes into, accompanied by a keyboard synth. Smith moans over top of this for a short time, then the song returns abruptly to what it was before. This repeats again, and the keyboard fades out.
7.8/10
02 - Eat It Up Worms Hero (2:33)
And now RAWK comes in. Quite a contrast to the previous song. Cardiacs punk roots come in. Then there's a trippy proggy couple of seconds before the verse comes in. There are so many random parts to this, it would be too messy and take too long to describe. Soon, weird dissonance comes in at the chorus, which consists of Smith's muffled yelling through what sounds like a megaphone. Trippy bells, not so dissimilar from the previous song linger in the background throughout.
And now RAWK comes back, but this time it serves as a fadeout. Jesus Christ, over already? However, the erraticness hasn't finished yet - a strange piano interlude comes in at the end, that foreshadows the next song. It ends in a weird, short burst of noise.
8.0/10
03 - Dog Like Sparky (4:54)
For as absurd as these lyrics are, this song is damn catchy.
Brother, sis, we'll never ever sing like Barky
We wanna be dog-like Sparky
No feet for me and suck red upon my belly
We wanna be dog-like Sparky
Yeah, that's right... O.o
In one section, Smith's ex-wife Sarah comes in, and sings with him. I don't know what section, as is usual with Cardiacs songs.
This is definitely one of their more melodic songs - asthetically talking here. Sarah Smith helps in that regard - pleasant voice.
An interesting keyboard/guitar solo punctuates the second half of the song. The effects on the keyboard again give this a slightly psychedelic sound.
The tempo speeds up faster and faster towards the end of the song, where it does out with a bang.
Scarily enough, this is one of their more normal songs...
8.7/10
04 - Fiery Gun Hand (5:13)
The beginning to this song actually sounds normal, like a rock song. Then a typical Cardiacs riff comes in, and then Smith starts singing over an industrial-sounding bass riff. The main riff comes in and out periodically. Then, suddenly, what the hell is this? Screaming guitars that sound like controlled feedback. Yeah.
A random little spurt of music then pops in at the end - I don't know how to describe it. Then the previous sections repeat.
The little musical part from earlier comes back in, but far more developed this time. Probably my favourite part of the song. It's over too soon.
Suddenly, ooo, guitar solo? Believe it or not, these aren't terribly common in Cardiacs songs. This echoes of Buckethead, I think, ever so slightly. If I'm to draw comparisons.
Circus style comes in near the end, helped by the keyboard tone used here. Saxophone is audible in the mix now as well - harking back to the days of classic Cardiacs.
Another small solo at the end, and then a solo keyboard section (again, small) closes the song. One hell of a ride.
7.9/10
05 - Insect Hoofs On Lassie (3:01)
Wow, a normalish chord progression at the start here? Unusual. This is again probably one of their more accessible songs, but that doesn't mean a hell of a lot. Weird backing vocals are abound here again. Also an unusual use of triplets in parts in here - must be hard as hell to play live.
An awesome little keyboard solo, I guess, comes in two little sections throughout the second half. Love it. Song fades out on the second run. Friggin hell, this song goes by fast.
8.6/10
06 - Fairy Mary Mag (3:45)
I really don't know how to describe the intro to this. It's just a weird atmosphere. Very thick.
Smith then starts singing over a thankfully sparse arrangement - just keyboard on what sounds like a choir patch.
Now, who the hell is singing this next part? Doesn't sound like Smith at all. I really don't know.
Then what feels like the bulk of the song kicks in, even though we're now halfway through. Oh wait, now it's the choir patch + singing again. Some weird choices in structure here, and this is considering Cardiacs when they're normal as well.
The song then ends with apparently 40 seconds left. However, these remaining seconds provide a little random intrumental.
7.3/10
07 - Bellyeye (4:09)
The bass in this song gives it a jangly feel. Quirky. I would consider this another of their more accessible songs. Just all-around enjoyable. Of course, it's full of around nine or so individual ideas/sections, but it still manages to keep itself focused.
8.0/10
08 - A Horse's Tail (3:48)
Okay, this song is just... impossible to go through. There's too much in it, for God's sake. What appears to be the verse has about four completely different ideas in it. This song is just on speed. There is a focused section around the middle area of the song. And then, after that...
Jesus Christ, that scared me originally. Just the tone of the keyboard there. Sounds evil. A freaky chord progression to go with it.
The song cools down towards the end, and fades out on some guitar riffage.
7.7/10
09 - Manhoo (5:00)
A trippy intro here. Then acoustic guitar - gives an impression of a stripped down Cardiacs song. I really enjoy what feels like the pre-chorus in this one. Chorus is good as well - this song is a nice relief from the previous one. Definitely one of their more focused ones. However, there's still some funky instrumentation abound in this, as well as ideas. Perfectly palatable, though.
However, there is one WEIRD part at 2:31 in this. What and who the hell is that "singing"?? Things take a turn for odd in the section half of this song, actually. I take my previous statement back now, haha. I guess the odd sections of this song could be lumped together as the bridge. Apart from the bridge, it's perfectly palatable.
8.8/10
10 - Wireless (8:22)
And now a monster of a song. Starts off with some synth effects, and then what appears to be the songs main theme, on keyboards.
The atmosphere of the riff carries through the first two verses, and then a new section! Wha-wha-wha-WHAT?? Doesn't last for long, as expected. Just an odd chorus, as per custom now. Then a weird percussive interlude takes place. Apparently this is played by scissors, of all things. They actually credited someone with playing scissors on the album, believe it or not.
The main riff slowly comes back during this, and now we're nearly five minutes into the song. Geez this goes by fast. That's a very common thing I've found about Cardiacs songs - they just fly by.
Another weird interlude takes place - some weird speaking in the background. Something about seawater and spouts? Shrug. The scissors are prominent again during this. And then silence by the speaker. Eventually, even the scissors stop, and there's pure silence.
Then some epic sounding synths come in, almost like a movie soundtrack. It actually sounds beautiful. An unexpected turn, to say the least. And then, with that, the first disc ends.
7.0/10
Disc 2
01 - Dirty Boy (8:55)
I love this song. Probably their most normal rocky song as well. Just distortion surrounded by synth backing in parts. And the whole thing is essentially one massive, ever-changing chord progression. Simply mindboggling, when looking at it from a musical perspective. Smith sings over much of the song - must be hard to remember when playing live. The constant movement of the song is what keeps me listening - I can listen, captivated for five minutes without realising. There is one section towards the end that catches my ear everytime - where what appears to be a sustained note by Smith holds for around 2.5 minutes, until the songs end. This song is hard and fast until the end - one of my personal favourites from the album, despite its length.
9.1/10
02 - Billion (0:42)
This is short, but it sticks in my mind. They seem to have a short song like this on every record, I find. Just Smith singing over some trippy keyboard.
6.8/10
03 - Odd Even (3:19)
Another acoustic song. Probably number two for me from the album. I just love the melody and chord progressions in this. I think it's catchy, but I can't be sure. Another of their more accessible songs, though, I reckon. Towards the end is a funny little keyboard solo. I would probably class this song under psychedelic folk, really. A bit different from their other stuff, yet still their signature touch remains on it.
9.0/10
04 - Bell Stinks (1:19)
This riff is quite different, but so damn awesome. Most of the song consists of this riff, with variations, apart from a random little synthy part around 2/3rds in.
7.0/10
05 - Bell Clinks (2:55)
This really feels like their punk roots coming into the fore. Incredibly fast-paced. Really, there's not that much more to say about it. Apart from that experimental riff that in around the halfway mark. Sounds like something Mr Bungle would do. The song then comes back to its "normal" self.
7.0/10
06 - Flap Off You Beak (3:45)
Piano? Somehow, I feel this echoes Odd Even, slightly. It just has that feel to it. Anyway, this is a rather jangly song, helped by the bass in that regard, and the guitar riff. A fun listen, but nothing ultra-special.
6.6/10
07 - Quiet As A Mouse (1:28)
This "song" scares me. It's just some random voices saying random gibberish, with some freaky noises in the background. A scary old British woman and an ultra trippy ending make a ****ed up song. I can't really rate this song fairly, tbh, since it's not really a song.
?/10
08 - Angleworm Angel (2:25)
Fast-paced muted chords and an anthemic chorus give this song another punkish feel. Incredibly fastpaced - it's over before you know it.
7.0/10
09 - Red Fire Coming Out From His Gills (2:15)
This reeks of their earlier work. The main riff is probably one of my favourites off the album. It just has an indescribable epic feel.
7.6/10
10 - No Gold (3:32)
Trippy intro - piano reversed. Then comes a verse with a string quartet? Okay... well, this is certainly a prime example of their psychedelic edge. Smith's voice in this song is much less abrasive than usual, which provides a pleasant listen, amidst the strangeness.
8.4/10
11 - Nurses Whispering Verses (9:54)
The first impression of this song is dark, from the intro. Random synths then come in, and then a trippy guitar (or keyboard?) riff comes in. Then the first verse starts at 1:30. Quite a buildup.
The main riff has some alien quality to it. Something about the tone of that guitar/keyboard.
A prechorus and chorus pass by - my favourite sections, incidentally. Similar to Dirty Boy, those parts.
Now the song descends into a mess of sections - impossible to separate. There's an awesome Arabic vibe going on from 3:52 onwards. The song builds back up, slowly, until climaxing at a main riff variation at 4:45.
The song then fades out around 6:30. Random whirring and synth effects take place. This continues until the song's end.
7.3/10
12 - Foundling (5:28)
The beginning sounds like the start of a jam session. The keyboard here sounds like an accordian, strangely enough. This song feels very chill - it's much slower than the usual Cardiacs song. Synths are clearly the main star in this song. It echoes the intro track to the album, in parts - makes sense, really.
It continues on in this vein until the end - a conventional song structure, for once.
7.0/10
So, not every song is a winner on here, but it's certainly a strong album. However, I wouldn't recommend listening to it all in one go - it's a little overwhelming.
Recommended songs for those new to Cardiacs are Dog Like Sparky, Insect Hoofs On Lassie and Odd Even.
Overall album score: 7.1/10
No comments:
Post a Comment