The Squid's Navel

I thought I would review Silky Come Home. I thought about sending it just to the dudes but then how would Jodie ever get to read it? If Paddy is in anyway inclined he could link to some of the better tracks. It might be nice for some to finally hear Sibella in all its shambling off-key charm (and Thommo might check the blog and be chuffed...or sue). There is an unashamed focus on my bits as I find me quite quite interesting.

Mnemosyne
Not a bad start. In time and largely in tune… crucially we get most of the changes. Slows down somewhat. Happily the lyrics are remembered. The guitars in general are too quiet but this could have been my room mic.

Crossbreed
We fairly nailed this one. Guitars chime. The rhythmn bounces along. Nice tight drumming. The first appearance of some amusing vocal reverb deployed by the clearly bored Jodie on the night. Again lyrics remembered. Guitar solo is excellent considering I could not hear a note of it. Good commitment from the entire band… we sound like we mean it.

Thin Walls
This one came out way better than I remembered. Even my guitar fiddly bits, though way too weak, are not a disaster. Paddy struggles manfully with vocals and comes out on top. Crafty provides excellent harmony… and we sound like a band. Guitar solo if anything is better than usual.

GHMS
Absolutely smashed it. Better than the album version. Great drums. Great bass. Great guitars and great vocals. Good speed throughout. The only criticisms I can make is me losing my place on the fretboard in the middle chorus and illness preventing me from performing one of my few harmonies and instead doubling Paddy (and don't try and tell me I usually double Paddy anyway… I am sure I don't).

Sibella
Loose as a goose but nice tempo. Fine backing vocals and Paddy expertly handled my reversing of the verses with his usual aplomb. Pissweak guitar solo. Great drums… perhaps my favourite drum-wise. My vocals are all over the place… which is where they usually are.

Hare Trigger
More shaky guitar work from me. Fine lead work from Silky. Does anyone, least of all me, know the lyrics to this one? Silky does a cracking Bryan Ferry impersonation during the alternate section. My wife commented particularly that she liked his style… and I love the commitment. Clearly a crowd live fav. My "improvising" in the outro threw everyone except Paddy… sorry.

Deadpan
What the fuck happened here? Poor Paddy's voice is finally giving up.

Who Loves The Sun
Much better than it could have been. The vocals are better than the instruments… in this way we are the same as the Beatles.

Tion
I like the way we roll here. After practising the twiddly bit solidly for four days (along with the twiddly bit in Thin Walls) I missed the strings completely the first time… the second was a much happier experience. The real star here is Jodie with an egregious use of vocal reverb. Paddy's voice responds enthusiastically to the lower register. Unfortunately his bass work may have shone but it is hard to hear throughout the entire recording.

A Family's Mistake
I love everything about it except my amatuerish breathing technique. I like the speed and I like the fury. We almost cracked the transition into the outro… but, true to form, not quite.

Tongue Tied
Absolutely freaking nailed it… despite there quite obviously being no lyrics to the chorus.

Easy To Do
From the sublime to the ridiculous. Though there are some cracking errors here, they are made all the worse by the slow and exposed nature of the song. Highlights include Paddy's crackling vocals which convey the heartbreak of the ordeal being narrated… pathos defined… and my chromatic solo work.

Hinny
Hmmm… Paddy's larynx has left the building. The crowd sounds tired of us by the end.

Eutectic Point
Great work. Good thumping of drums and good cover for the missing stick. How hard is it to sing a repeated three note melody in tune… quite hard for me apparently.