Massicot - Kratt
Bongo Joe Records BJR048CD
Harbinger Sound SPURGE004
Redwing Records RW40
LP/CD/DL
Not catching the virus and not hearing Slade’s ‘So Here It Is Merry Xmas’ [correct as of the morning of 14th of December] I consider to be of equally vital importance in the ongoing battle to keep mind and body in some kind of functioning condition in this most forgettable of years. Upon hearing Noddy belting out ‘ITS CHRISSSSSMASSSSS!’ even if its just by accident and not having suffered the song it in its entirety, i.e say if traveling as a passenger in car with someone who likes the song very much and would like to hear it again for the eighth million time as it reminds them of that lovely Christmas they had in Carlisle once and no I’m not turning it off, would no doubt have the same effect upon me as running my tongue around the insides of the PPE bin in Pinderfields ICU, all while wearing a jumper with reindeers on it and drinking pints of Warninks advocaat. Enough already.
Now lets talk furlough. Which I am once again subjected to until the 18th of January [more of which later]. Thus I am spared the chance encounters with Christmas songs as I wander through a vast storage and distribution warehouse where not one but two competing radios, both playing differing commercial stations, one of them through a feeble transistor radio/alarm clock, a method of reproducing music akin to using two tins cans and a length of twine as a form of communication. All this means that for as long as my work takes me I’m subjected to the usual dull as dishwater daytime shite and at Christmas the even more tedious drag ‘em out and dust ‘em off Christmas songs. Oh my aching black mind be still and try to not to think of Shakey, Macca, Kirsty and the Pogues going once more through their tiresome regimes for the umpteenth time. Queen’s ‘Thank God Its Christmas’ anyone? A dirge of momentous proportions foisted upon us by the nations playlist selectors until sometime around Boxing Day when it and its ilk are slowly dropped only to resurface eleven months later because its y’know that special time of the year again. Suffer unto me those who hate Christmas songs.
Having heard Slade’s royalty cheque pension paean to all things festive every year since its release sometime back in the early 1970’s, I think I can safely say that I can now live my life quite normally without ever having to hear its jingly charms ever again and long may it continue. There are other songs I can add to the list of course but the mere thought of having to compile such a thing takes me to a dark place that only the likes of Massicot can save me. OK, there may be plenty more groups and musics that can save me but its to Massicot we must turn as this is the disc thats been on repeat for most of the week and the one saving me from yuletide ennui.
A box from Underwood has arrived then, a big box containing as it does all manner of goodness the likes of which I haven’t received for many a year. It fair brought a tear to the old jaded eyeballs as thoughts of packages, tours, gigs, shitty pubs and hangovers in strange places came floating to the murky surface. After all things Sleaford went pear shaped it was obvious that the man himself wouldn’t stay quiet for long and so it has proved with the recent announcement of an online distro specialising in German musics @ohne_grundmusik and a soon to be sister label to Harbinger Sound that will no doubt be worthy of our time and money.
Massicot are three piece from Geneva and play guitars with missing strings and strings in slots where they shouldn’t be. They have a drummer thats been listening to Neu! and a singer that talks in Swiss German [I think] but only very occasionally for a lot of what Massicot do contains no vocals. Their angular Euro centric post punk rhythms meets rattling bass and stripped down drums in a cafe near the Jean Tinguely museum in Basel can lead to long workouts such as the previous Harbinger ten inch Suri Gurti [currently available for free via their Bandcamp page, yes for free] where a pumping three string bass and rolling military drums move through areas of spiky guitar where the chords are two held down strings being given a good thrashing above constantly shifting beats. There is power and energy here and a vim and verve that brings to mind those exciting post punk days when the sneers and the snot and the safety pins had been replaced by a far more erudite and forward thinking movement.
Kratt is austere, precise and emotional and opens with cowbells and a Philip Glass like operatic vocal Einstein on the Beach polyphonic riff which is a great way to start any album and the perfect one to tee up ten tracks of deeply European centric post-punk avant-garde sparkly guitar, skinny bass and primitive drumming in a cafe in Basel near the Jean Tinguely museum. Yes, Philip Glass opera. The last time I heard a post-punk album with that kind of name check was …. never.
Each track is built around riffs of a spindly guitar nature, be it bass or the other one, some of which erupt into full blown chaos, some of which subside into reggae drop-out space into which the vocal are delivered in good old ‘I’m Here To Give Instructions’ style. Its a winning combination. The twisted, wriggling bass opener of the opening track is a sinuous thing, ‘Cuska’ opens with pounding drums and high necked string frottage, ‘Korktellis’ is a smouldering bonfire of rapidly delivered lines and body jerked dance moves. After all this riotous activity you arrive at ‘Saule’ and an ultra-sludged, detuned instrumental walk through knee deep treacle that sets up whatever they do next nicely.
I’m not that familiar with Massicot and there’s not that much out there but from what I’ve heard their sound has already shifted several times and as far as I can gather their line up has changed too. I’m also avoiding comparison with Kleenex because despite the obvious, there's a lot more going on here.
I like Slade, I really do, but you can shove their Christmas song as far up Santa’s bumhole as it’ll fit. Ho ho ho.
https://massicot.bandcamp.com/
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