Anthroprophh - Special Love Songs For Hardworking People In Alarm Clock Britain

The terribly named Anthroprophh (Paul Allen from the Heads and Gareth Turner and Jesse Webb from the Big Naturals) return with the wonderfully named Special Love Songs For Hardworking People In Alarm Clock Britain. It also comes in a terrific spoof Throbbing Gristle cover.

Unfortunately the version of first track Jan Birth Jam that we were sent is 17 minutes of silence. I think that it’s a version of the track on SRR2 so I’ll review that instead. It’s a blistering jam with Paul Allen going from paint-stripping, Neil Young-like trebly distortion to all-out noise assault. When he steps on the wah-wah your mind splits open. Gareth Turner and Jesse Webb are right there with him. Turner in particular is all over the bass. This version is only 9 minutes long, Lord alone knows what they get up to on the 17 minute version. The wah-wah is also out on No One Likes You, a seven minute heavy psychedelic freak-out in the Blue Cheer vein. Pig Squealer is an even heavier, sludgier proposition with a bone-headed riff and a demented vocal from Allen that reminds me of Golf by Art Phag. The wah-wah comes out again for another scorching, mind expansion session. Model 7000 With A Circular Fitting (Song For A King) is rather different and reminds me of Very Friendly by Throbbing Gristle if Dik Mik from Hawkwind had been allowed to go nuts all over it. Cardinal Drag starts with weird electronics and the sound of footsteps, when these disappear an acoustic guitar takes their place along with a highly treated vocal. Every now and then a heavily fuzzed, lead guitar obliterates everything else in the mix. It’s possibly the strangest piece of mixing that I’ve heard since David Bowie took loads of Coke and mixed Raw Power. It’s also a really weird song. I like it. It gets even weirder on I Love You So Much which is found sounds and electronics with Paul Allen half-singing a song that is part love song, part pastiche, part diary entry, At one point he seems to be quoting Glen Medeiros. Again, Genesis P Orridge is the most obvious influence. Never Went Out Again is more Hawkwind electronics, it’s also a bit Sonic Boom/Pete Kember.

This record is a really weird mix of stuff. As such it doesn’t hold together that well as an album but that may not have been the intention. This doesn’t make it a bad record at all. The first three tracks are blistering, Heavy Psych that will thrill lovers of Blue Cheer and heavy Japanese psychedelic music. The rest of the album is more like Throbbing Gristle and the weirder corners of Hawkwind’s back catalogue. These tracks don’t stand up quite as well but there are still some truly weird moments that make them an enjoyable listen.