ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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The Megaphonic Thrift
THE MEGAPHONIC THRIFT CLUB AC30 6.2.12 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
Riding a cacophony of squalling guitars, only the skip, skip, skipping drums give structure. But wait, here comes the soothing chorus, redolent of sixties psychedelic sensibilities. A tense verse, chorus structure takes the rest of the song, with an ever-present howling guitar on the edge of feedback. That’s track one. There are more. Track two is as sweet as all get out, like an acid pear drop smothered in sugar – suck a minute and the twin guitars needle pointedly. This is fabulous stuff, with sainted ancestors, The Jesus And Mary Chain, a touchstone – shoegaze, art-rock, noise and lovely pop tunes. It’s a powerful combination and one that gets addictive – this has been on or in the Vanguard Towers CD player for weeks. The Megaphonic Thrift take themselves very seriously and have worked and arranged these songs into perfect art-pop-rock, functioning as a lovely backdrop OR a screaming in-your-face intensity explosion. Personally I favour the ear-bleeding option…… Live, The Megaphonic Thrift create a shockingly good show. In front of less than fifty people in Leeds recently, they focussed on the space of the stage, creating a locked-down war zone of sonic landscape while the shell-shocked onlookers tensed and swayed. There was a constant impression of a ferocious beast of sound behind, just controlled. They sang gently, trying not to let the beast loose but it squalled out despite their efforts. Both guitars set up sheets of sound, weaving round the tuneful bass lines and riding the busy drums. Song after song got louder and more intense till the band were floating on blistering waves of sound, interspersed with the female bassist’s candied vocal lines. An album isn’t going to recreate the live experience but the elements are all present and correct here, on their second album, just slightly more restrained. It will suck you in and demand regular replays till it has claimed a place by your CD player. Play LOUD. megaphonicthrift.tumblr.com |
