I recently came across a re-release of The Cardiacs' 1984 album "The Seaside" and it reminded me what a work of skewed, strident genius it was.
For those who have never heard them or, worse, have only heard "Is this the Life?" as was championed by Steve Goodier about 10 years back, they can best be described thus:
The bloke out of the Cure on some severe stimulants with a backing band composed of clockwork monkeys whose gears are jammed playing fairground carousel music in E flat minor in 15-and-a-half/4 time on Fisher-Price instruments. Alternatively:
Stop-start prog-cum-ska that is tighter than a duck's most intimate places for the entire zig-zag course of the tracks - each of which is a nursery rhyme for people with severe Tourette's.
Anyone else out there with a similarly warped love for the Smith brothers and co?
If so, what is ur favourite track?
Personal fave: RES... particularly where the highly disturbing instrumental break, for no reason, turns into a guitar solo which is so sublime it makes you understand that there must be a God and he's actually an alright geezer and on our side. Not fret-******y - just beauty.
*Polite Note* Any attempts to turn this thread into a discussion of the relative merits of one of the many micro-genres of metal will be viewed with extreme disfavour. This thread is about the Cardiacs (on the off-chance there is even one other person out there who likes them,) not any other band.
P.s. the bassist played a Rickenbacker, that says a lot.
For those who have never heard them or, worse, have only heard "Is this the Life?" as was championed by Steve Goodier about 10 years back, they can best be described thus:
The bloke out of the Cure on some severe stimulants with a backing band composed of clockwork monkeys whose gears are jammed playing fairground carousel music in E flat minor in 15-and-a-half/4 time on Fisher-Price instruments. Alternatively:
Stop-start prog-cum-ska that is tighter than a duck's most intimate places for the entire zig-zag course of the tracks - each of which is a nursery rhyme for people with severe Tourette's.
Anyone else out there with a similarly warped love for the Smith brothers and co?
If so, what is ur favourite track?
Personal fave: RES... particularly where the highly disturbing instrumental break, for no reason, turns into a guitar solo which is so sublime it makes you understand that there must be a God and he's actually an alright geezer and on our side. Not fret-******y - just beauty.
*Polite Note* Any attempts to turn this thread into a discussion of the relative merits of one of the many micro-genres of metal will be viewed with extreme disfavour. This thread is about the Cardiacs (on the off-chance there is even one other person out there who likes them,) not any other band.
P.s. the bassist played a Rickenbacker, that says a lot.
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