Art Trip and the Static Sound - A Week Of Kindness 

After listening to A Week of Kindness, the second album by Art Trip & The Static Sound, only the uninitiated would be surprised to learn that the album was guided and produced by Luis Felber and Andy Ramsey of Stereolab. That is, until the monochromatic “Feminine Hygiene Spray” kicks in, which rolls around any listening space like Stereolab meets a few new Fuzz Club bands.

From there on things get easier, or should I say, harder (not that the first two tracks, “Best Friends” and “Kerplunk!”, differ much in that respect), as the lead singer Melodie Holliday sings, shouts, wails, pouts, while the band keep on doing their psych versions of any form of a car crash with quite a free abandon. Imagine a joint session between The Cramps and Sleater-Kinney with Lydon and his PiL joining in here and there (like on the “Fly Zone”, for example).

It seems, that Felber & Ramsey just unleashed the band in the studio with flattening eventual spikes here and there. It is like modern heavy psych with punk attitude, quite understandable when you have in mind that Melodie is very active in the Decolonise and Sound Women collective in London, for whom she makes art for.

Does it sound loud and messy? Sure does, but that seems exactly to be the intention and if so Melodie and the band have surely achieved their goal, giving their listeners a glimpse of probably even louder, messier and certainly glorious live show.

On the other hand, if you’re a listener who is not so keen on such sounds, you might consider putting on “A Week Of Kindness” at a moment when you need to shake up your body and your brain cells, track like “Iron Lung” or “Bad Impression” will certainly do the trick.