Wicked Women, Wicked Men and Wicket Keepers (All The Mad Men)
They're
flying in the face of fashion; they seem to have a will of their own,
and the Power will is and unfashionable one to knowledge and action. What's
more, the vehicle that these self-confessed train enthusiasts use to convey
their attitudes is a music that is designed to be both contemporary and
timeless, the very sound of which implies that, however many battles have
been fought, won and lost, some things never change.
There's a voice here so proud, clear and defiant that it's hard to imagine
it sounding vulnerable or intimate; which could be a problem. There are
also gentle folky harmonies
and the occasional touch of recorder, over fuzz guitar and relentlessly
brisk rhythms. A curios mix to be sure; but it works because ther's enough
wit and craft in the lyrical storytelling to make you want to pay the
intense attention that this music demands, and because the melodies buzz
and surge irresistibly.
It's all fresh, frantic and - for better or worse - very English; a non-stopexpress
narrative. Observations and details are packed into the streamlined music
like rush hour tube commuters crammed into a carriage. 'Wicked Women'
is the best history lesson I've ever danced to.
Dave
Jennings
Melody Maker