Fall Fan Dave and the Lap Top Dancers - Mind Carved Canoe

Invisiblegirl

Released 14th February 2010

01 Go Getter

02 Yesterday I had scrambled eggs

03 The Five Rule

04 Martian Cobblestones

05 The Sky at Night

06 Captain Fidget

07 Master of the Hunt

08 Sensitive Soul

09 As soon as it comes

10 Fall out with your Boss

11 Ironclad

12 Lying on the Beach of Apathy

13 Magic Kettle

14 Stony Crabapple Lay

15 Party of Life

16 Poker in the Joker

17 Storyville

18 Give it a Mention

19 Maniacs Do

20 Mumbai Rock n Roll

21 Teddy Bear Volcano

22 Oh Liberty

23 Tit for Tat

24 Last of The Great Pretenders

25 Prison (I feel free)

As someone has followed Dave Bromwich's music on My Space for a number of years and marvelled at his ability to create musical masterpieces with just Fruity Loops and "a cheap microphone" I am not suprised by the quality and depth of his first signed release "Mind Carved Canoe" (Invisiblegirl).

His partnership with Ian Harber has created a fantastic album of new songs. From the opening growling synth of "Go Getter" with its insanely catchy melody, and astute lyrics you are hooked. The big band feel and jerky rhythms of "Five Rule" is a mixture of spoken word and Dave's rich voice which is compelling. It's the use of non-traditional rhythms and the layers of synthesized sounds coupled with lyrics that make you listen - for example the manic xylophone sound on "The Sky at Night" shouldn't work, but it does.

Any number of influences leap out of the sound-scape to combine forming something rather new here. The use of shorter form pieces to link the longer tracks is extremely clever as you are drawn into a place only to be mind flipped into somewhere else almost immediately. The nuances of progressive, and garage music are here, as is street wise wordplay that tumbles into memorable hooks. However it is the astute use of electronica that makes the album so refreshing and relevant. That Dave Bromwich has a great voice has never been in doubt, that he is has now managed to capture it at its compelling best is a testament to the quality of this release. That the duo are able to take a musical form which has been overused and sanitised and convert it into a unique musical artefact is a testament to the artistry of Bromwich and Harber. If you aren't smiling at the end of the manic "Teddy Bear Volcano" then there is something seriously wrong with you!

I know comparisions are odious, and probably lazy, but if I was to venture that this is this decades "Trout Mask Replica" then I guess I would not be over-selling it.

As my colleague Tony Thornborough says "Give your mind a rest and your ears a test" - you deserve it.