Formed as a side project joint venture by the ever-restless Dan Leavers (aka Danalogue) and Max Hallett (aka Betamax); two thirds of far out Mercury nominated freak-out funk combo ‘The Comet is Coming’.
This latest EP triplet is released on Moshi Moshi records on 26 June, although we have already been treated to the space rock ennui epic ‘I was Gonna Fight Fascism’, the lead-off track on ‘Tactics’. Starting with a withering polemic on the difficulty in mobilising the youth in changing the status quo, ‘…Fascism’ is something of a Frankensong bolted together using bits of classic Hawkwind, Barret-era Floyd and early Roxy, yet underpinned by a nagging hypnotic groove giving it a contemporary feel.
Recruiting Alabaster DePlume on vocals following Dan’s help with his LP ‘The Corner of a Sphere” and Kristian Craig Robinson (aka Capital K) on bass, the second of three cuts 'Children Will Dance' is a nailed on post Covid-19 club smash in waiting; taut bass wrapped around a smorgasbord of percussion; an eerie haunted house synth riff weaving in and out of the background.
Rounding things off is Soccer96’s hedonistic ode to mass consumerism ‘Buy It’; frenetic Afrobeat competing with woozy electronica creating a distinctly shamanic flavour, practically voodoo in fact.
Set your controls for the heart of the sun!
Words - Mike Price