Manchester label Akoustik Anarkhy is very quickly making a bit of a name for itself. Sired from the stable that brought you The Longcut and Nine Black Alps, recent releases from bands like Autokat and The Loungs have indicated a knack for finding interesting music originating from the North West. With this more leftfield split 7” release, they do nothing to diminish their reputation.
‘The Way We Played It Yesterday’, Islands Lost At Sea’s debut offering, kicks off with an infectious bass line that immediately gets inside you. This hook and the 4/4 beat propel the song, while a variety of instruments and samples that sound like everything from the kazoo to modem noises to backing vocals by the Chipmunks launch an intricate assault on the ears. Things break down for something of an eye to the storm with mysterious vocals that sound a lot like local boy Guy Garvey, and then you’re off again on a magical carpet ride through Islands Lost At Sea’s strange world. Like a cartoon pop song might sound to the deranged, it begs repeated listens.
Softpriest (AKA Charlie Bayley) seems to inhabit an even stranger sister world to Islands Lost At Sea. A kind of future gypsy folk instrumental, ‘Study Bunk Breakout’ is another song that sounds like it has been filtered through the mind of the insane. For the most part it appears to be a succession of TV theme tunes played backwards (there’s definitely some Rainbow in there) and has moments of brilliant discordance. Arrhythmic and very odd, ‘Study Bunk Breakout’ can at times be a little disorientating and is about as far from ‘chill-out’ as electronica can be, but it is utterly innovative and is absorbing and entertaining throughout.
All in all then, another very promising AA side from the aA label.
****
First published on rockfeedback.com. See it here.
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