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Tip the Maps

by The Nightowl Sings

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1.
A Quintessential English Dream 04:02
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2.
Dukebox Ghosts 01:12
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3.
This Town's More Fun (with No Shoes On) 02:32
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4.
Black Medicine 02:46
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5.
Dukebox Ghosts 01:13
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6.
10 Minutes from Olympia 06:05
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7.
Dukebox Ghosts 01:16
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8.
You Can Talk To Me 03:53
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9.
Let's Go Away 04:15
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10.
Dukebox Ghosts 00:42
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11.
Here She Comes 02:32
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12.
Radiator 02:20
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13.
Stars 02:23
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about

More skewed, weird pop alt.rock. Made at home.

"I hope y'all like your music with a layer of scuzzy distortion because that's what you'll get with The Nightowl Sings. You'll get a lot more, of course, but the dirty, grimey, garagey sound is what hits you from the off. Yeah, maybe it does sound like someone's Fall-en onto the Pavement but there's no denying the power of the songs, three minutes (give or take) of no-fi grunged-up garage rock that aims for the gut and the throat simultaneously. You can almost hear the dirt crunch under their boots as they plough through these golden nuggets.

This is the scuzzbuzz-buzzing-in-the-eardrum end of the Treehouse oeuvre, songs that were recorded in less time that it takes to listen to 'em, guitars distorted beyond all recognition, the vocal takes done by shouting in a tin can with a string attached to the 4-track. Probably. The drums are sloppy as all get out, but that's OK too, they propel the tunes with a certain devil-may-care swing. And it's all about capturing a moment rather than perfection.

But it's not all fuzzfuzzfuzz by any stretch, oh no, particularly in the second half of Tip The Maps. The atmospheric piano pieces “Dukebox Ghosts” act as moments of calm throughout, and there's a whole bunch of Marc-at-the-guitar-late-at-night songs. “Black Medicine” and “You Can Talk To Me” find him in wracked fine voice, all the fancy sounds put to one side, a touch of world-weariness hanging around the songs like cigarette smoke in a jazz club in the 1950s. On the closing “Stars” the multi-tracked choir swirl around like so many broken angels trying to claw their way back upstairs. At which point it's tempting to go back to the beginning and get a refreshing blast from the electric guitar of doom.

The disparate sounds on Tip The Maps are pulled together into the lengthy centrepiece “10 Minutes from Olympia” which manages the trick of sounding languid and frantic at the same time, the varied movements unified through the spirit of the radio. What starts of like a swingin' little tune morphs into a percussive free jazz blow-out, those drums getting a crack at the centre stage whilst a sax parps desperately in the distance. There's no recovery here, just the laughter of a band comfortable in the knowledge they've pushed an idea as far as it'll go, and then a bit further just to be sure. Excellent music all round, and a tip of the cap is the least they deserve." - Jeremy Bye.

credits

released September 1, 2012

Marc Gillen : Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Bass, Drums & Vocal.

with

Stephen Benson : Acoustic Guitar, Saxophone & Drums.
Rachel Gillen : Drums.
Alastair Popple : Violin, Theremin & Loops.
David Thompson : Electric Guitar, Tambourine & Vocal.

Produced by The Nightowl Sings & Alastair Popple.

TOR029.

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about

Treehouse Orchestra Recordings image

Treehouse Orchestra Recordings Cumbria, UK

Collective of artists and musicians based in Carlisle, Cumbria. Alt. rock, ambient, folk, avant garde, pop and more.

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