2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

new albums

36 • UNCUT • jULY 2019

“Tipthe

worldover

onitsside,”

architect

FrankLloyd

Wright

oncesaid,

“andeverythingloosewillland

inLosAngeles.”Onemightsay

somethingsimilaraboutRob

Smoughton’sBlackpeaches

projectandthecloselylinkedHot

Chip:tipthelatteroverontheir

side,andwhateverdoesn’tfit

willenduppartofSmoughton’s

increasinglycatholicventure.

Whatthismeans,inpractice,

is thatBlackpeachesrevelinthe

loose,groove-ladensoundswhich

emergedfromlate-1960sand

1970sNorthandSouthAmerica.

They’restyleswhichHotChip–

withwhomSmoughtonresumed

collaborationsin2009,andwhose

sometimeswilfullynaïveclub-pop

styleremainsdistinctlyEnglish

• havelargelyeschewed,atleast
  since2004’sComingOnStrong.
  Thatsaid,no-onecouldclaim
  HotChipandBlackpeaches
  operateinentirelyexclusive
  universes.Smoughton’svoice
  could,attimes,bemistaken
  forAlexisTaylor’s,something
  illustratedby“Barracuda”,
  where it’s stifled in a trebly

fashion,onethatalsoechoesDr

Robert’s,a manwho,thesedays,

displayscomparablynostalgic

predispositions.“Lemonade”’s

openingbars,too,exhibit– albeit

briefly– a melodicarcTaylor

mightfavour,andthereareother

momentsinbothbands’pasts

wheretheircommoninterestsare

prominent,amongthem“Fire& A

WaterSign”,fromBlackpeaches’

2016 debut,GetDownYouDirty

Rascals, andtheir 2017 “Tight

Squeeze”single,whichrecalled

WilliamOnyeabor,anestablished

HotChipobsession.

Smoughton’sfondnessfor

stylespioneeredontheother

sideoftheAtlantic,however,

is immediatelysignpostedby

titleslike“Barracuda”,“Cuatro

Berimbau”– namedfora Brazilian

single-stringinstrument– and

“TheBlackpeachBoogie”,which

soundssuitablylikea fruity

Cubancocktail.Furthermore,his

band’sadventurousinclinations

canbeheardintheirwillingness

tojamaroundcarefullycrafted,

oftenlengthyarrangements.it

onlytakes“CuatroBerimbau”’s

extendedopeningtounderscore

this:spiritedkeyboardlines

reminiscentofWallyBadarou

battlea rhythmsomehowboth

martial and Afro-beat before,

almostthreeminutes

intoitseight-minute

span,burstsof

proggishguitars,

barroompianoand

harmonicafinally

usherina verse

Supertrampmight

haveconcocted.

if thissounds

likesometimes-

unwarranted

complexity,think

again:Smoughtonand

hisfourbandmates

• includingbassist
  SusumuMukai,
  fromtheequally
  nostalgicVanishing
  Twin,anddrummer
  NickRoberts,who
  performedwithGrosvenor,
  Smoughton’sformerincarnation


• havegotthemusochops,but,
  forthemostpart,they’refartoo
  easy-goingforthetheatricsof
  thelikesofTheLemonTwigs.
  instead,theyunderplaysmooth
  keychangesandintricatetime
  signatures,effortlesslypursuing
  tangentsbeyondmoreconcise
  songwriting’ssimpleconstructs.
  That’snottosaytheydon’t
  strayintorealmsofexcess.“The
  BlackpeachBoogie”’skeyboard
  elasticityflirtswiththemore
  kitschmarginsoflibrarymusic
  andeasylisteningattheexpense
  ofa sophisticateddiscoshuffle,
  andwhentheysacrificeWestCoast
  pedalsteelfortheblues-metal
  guitarsat“Lemonade”’sheart,it
  evokesTheStoneRoses’bloated
  SecondComingasmuch as ZZ Top’s
  Tres Hombres.

Fortunately,whensuchdevotion

toexplosiveriffsis ignitedon

anotherdrawn-outtune,the

titletrack,it’ssoonforgotten

amidbreathlessrockabillyand

Smoughton’sexhortationsto

“Dance,takea chance/Andshift

thoseantsfromyourpants.”in

fact,eventheirmostoverblown

momentsareundercutwitha

knowinglevity,somethingthat’s

alwaysbeenpartofSmoughton’s

armoury:nineyearsago,the

soft-rockflavoursofGrosvenor

single“Dan”foreshadowed

a centralingredientinBlack

peaches’pungentstew,whileits

video– inwhichJamesCorden

playeda priest– highlightedhis

willingnesstopokefunatthevery

formshewasadopting.

Consequently,“Barracuda”’s

squelchykeyboardssoundno

moreabsurdthanStevieWonder’s,

andthey’resoonlostanywayas

thebandzippurposefully,their

waltzingrhythmfront-loaded,

fromyachtrocktoBrazilian

tropicália,and,eventually,busy,

Santana-likejazzfusion.Butif

there’sanidealexampleofBlack

peaches’inclusiveembraceof

multiplestyles,it’stheclosing

finaleof“SpiceRoute”andits

associatedsecondhalf,“pillars

OfHercules”.Withtheirwinning

concoctionofsoaringguitars,

exoticmalletinstrumentsand

colourfulLatinrhythms,these

solvethepuzzleofhowSmoughton

endedupinScrittipolittiwhile

alsosatiatinghissoftspotforthe

Doobies’“LongTrainRunning”.

Bpplayit loose,inotherwords,

but somehow it all fits.

BLaCk PeaChes

FireIn The hole haNGING MOON ReCORDs

8/10

UndersungHotChip/ScrittiPolittiacolytedusts

off his vintage vinyl.By Wyndham Wallace

diSCovered

searching out the best albums new toUncut

Robsmoughton:“Bossa

novaandnewwave mean

thesamething”

aretheregenresfromwhich

you’dresistborrowing?

Nothing’soutofbounds,butit hasto

makesense.I don’twritewiththeaim

ofmashingtogethertwothingsjust

forthenovelty.Beinga whiteman

whogrewupin southLondonin the

’90s,it mightseemstrangethemusic

that’sinfluencedmemostwasmade

ontheothersideofthepond,orsouth

oftheequator.ButLondonis sucha

mélangeofculturesI can’thelpbut

beinfluencedbymyneighbours.I

alsotrytodrawparallelsbetween

disparateelements:a sambabeat

with a pedal steel, African guitar

styleswithprog-rockorjazz-fusion

timesignatures.Afterall,bossanova

andnewwavemeanthesamething.

Doyouhavereservations

aboutmixingmusicand

humour?Sometimespopmusic

• anythingthatisn’tjazz,classical
  ora soundtrack– hasa tendency
  tobecometooearnest.WhileI see
  it asanartform,I don’talwaysthink
  it shouldbetreatedas“art”.I like
  musictoentertain,totakeusoutof
  theeveryday,andhumourplaysa
  bigpartin that.SongwriterslikeRay
  DaviesorGuyClarkhavea great
  senseofhumour.Beingtongue-in-
  cheekisn’tsomethingI willeverget
  outmysystem,noris it somethingI
  wantto.INTERVIEW: WYNDHAM WALLACE

Q&A

CAtheRINe FRIeL