The Powdered Cows And The Toy Throat Alarm Clock – LP
First up, apologies to Powdered Cows for this long overdue review. Second up, I’m glad I was given the nudge to submit these words as I’ve very much enjoyed discovering this debut album over the last few weeks. Not all of it mind, but certainly more than I expected after the first few listens. Martin Roberts is possibly the most enigmatic performer in Bournemouth town, having collaborated, performed and played music with probably more local artists than any other musician in the last four or five years. His role with Betika was particularly praiseworthy, and more recently with Disco’s Out Murder’s In his input both musically and visually is even more prominent.
However, listening to this album it is his work with Michael Wookey which bares the most resemblance. There are a few songs here that would happily sit in amongst Wookey’s classic You Shield Me From Darkness, an album whose marvel continues to blow me away. Here, the beautiful abbreviated opener ‘A Sea In A Shell’ reminds me of a number of tracks from Bryter Later until the vocals start, and then quickly end. When listening to this album with insufficient time to play all eleven tracks I’ve been skipping the next three tracks. They’re okay, but for me the second and fourth are the weakest tracks on the album with ‘Hidden Tapes’ being an unsuccessful venture into a heavier, more vocally aggressive sound.
‘Love Times Eight’ is typical of much of the quality within this album; its simplicity is its appeal, yet nothing here is at all straightforward. ‘Lion Lion’ has a similar, almost childlike naïve charm, again the music is repetitive, but there’s much thought gone into its subtle intricacies which give the sound important depth. ‘Art On The Walls’ is another gem, a gentle slice of whimsical alt-pop. If it weren’t for the overly long and dull musical interlude of ‘We Took The Train’, it would be this middle section that would fit in with Wookey’s finest, as ‘Eyes Of Knives’ meanders along beautifully, its wonderful instrumentation creating a lackadaisical, Provencial appeal. Penultimate track ‘Little Red Lilly Beetle’ is another one that just washes over me, before ‘Goodbye Zeta Reticuli’ brings things to a dreamy end; more experimental sounds disguised as simplicity.
Before ending on a much-deserved high note there are other dislikes. Namely the uninspiring cover and the fact that the song titles are spelt backwards on the sleeve. There’s possibly a reason for this though I don’t really care, I don’t need to spend time trying to figure out the titles. But, the majority of this album is quite beautiful. It peaks when the combination of a simple melody and a perfect use of alternative instrumentation are combined. Martin Roberts has proved that he is far more than a musical collaborator; The Powdered Cows And The Toy Throat Alarm Clock have a gorgeous, melancholic warmth to their sound. Not always hitting the spot, but doing so often enough to make this a highly recommendable listen.
One of my two favourite albums of last year, alongside Fever Ray’s ‘Fever Ray’. Quite a feat for a ‘local musician’. Great to see another act from the area delivering a coherent, solid, consistently engaging and listenable album (all personal taste I know, but I couldn’t imagine not listening to this album as a whole) which doesn’t make the sort of career-rock compromises that can seem to define much local output (not a criticism in of itself, there’s a place for everything, but I think the stuff we do differently is the stuff most likely to find a wider audience, as I think is being proven by some of our more diverse up-and-comers). Big props for giving this fantastic album coverage it direly needs, but seems a bit of a shame to pick on something as trivial as a backwards tracklisting – something that might perhaps trouble a fat-cat label boss looking to maximise sales, yes, but as a part of a total artistic package, by a local musician with a unique creative vision, surely not a bone to pick. In a music industry less and less controlled by those fat-cats, such artistic and creative presentation is more likely to prove a strength. IMHO
Cheers for the comments Pual, it is indeed a very fine album. I must’ve listened to it every day for the last three weeks, most of the time from start to finish, at others (when time restricts) skipping to my favourite tracks. Personally I couldn’t see the point in the backwards writing, and don’t think I made a big deal of it.
Mainly though, it saddens me that Martin appears to believe I think “it’s shit”, I hoped there was enough positivity in the review for to be a true reflection of my opinion.
Like I said “the majority of this album is quite beautiful”.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you could at least voice it well! Especially when it is on the front page. Dreadful review.
Thanks for the comment Jim.
Do you not agree with my opinion of the album, or just the quality of writing?
Your thoughts on both would be appreciated…
Fair review. Nothing anyone ever does 100% tickles every part of another’s ears, not in these days of cultural poverty, negative liberty and downright apathy. Anyhow his album is a marvellous piece of work from a truly marvellous and unique talent in the Bournemouth area, which is appreciated and expressed in the above article. Only crit of the review is the emphasis on it being something that would fit in to (and under) M Wookey’s long since forgotten bore-fest “You Shield Me from Darkness” If I was the Powdered Cow, I’d only be offended at that comparison. Rest of the review seems fair enuff.