Music Review - Ukmusicsearch - Reviews

With its blend of acoustic guitars, lo-fi keyboard effects, electronic drum beats and very English sounding vocals, SWALLOWING CURSES, has the definite feel of left field indie rock in the vein of The Fall or Belle and Sebastian. There are even moments that this sounds reminiscent of 80s synth pop like Soft Cell or The Human League, that same kind of dry vocal delivery and electro beats.
At its heart, this is catchy old school indie rock, with hook laden vocal melodies and big choruses, that hark back to late eighties downbeat indie rock. TERRACOTTA CATERPILLAR, an instrumental has more of that eighties feel.
Lo-fi sounding beats and synth melodies play against acoustic guitars in a wave of electro sounding nostalgia. Merchandise sound like a band with one foot back in the eighties and one foot heading for the future, definite old school electro beats crossed with a quirky turn of phrase and a real ear for catchy melodies. An intriguing couple of songs that will leave you hungry to hear more.

Merchandises Swallowing Curses single is being re-released in the wake of all the loved-up praise from Brad and Cons second album, Lo-tech Solutions to Hi-Tech Problems.
The single shows how the Bolton based duo have paved their idiosyncratic way into the hearts of reviewers and music fans with their ear for a pop song and a well turned lyric, earning them comparisons with the likes of Belle and Sebastian, The Beta Band and The Flaming Lips.
Here, Merchandises trademark sound is put to uplifting effect on the title track which, while catching the ear with less conventional sounds, has at its heart a poets soul and a pop song. Swallowing Curses memorable lyrics were penned by travelling writer and band collaborator Roger Williams and describe the unadulterated joy of emerging from the mists of depression and looking out on a cloudless sky - and you
really couldn't ask for more! Not satisfied with the usual band policy of releasing second rate material
to fill in the gaps, Merchandise have backed the single with Terracotta Caterpillar, an enthralling cocktail of sound which melds hypnotic folk-inspired melodies with hi-tech funk a la Four Tet.
When this single was first released it caught the attention of a certain Mark Radcliffe who gave the boys a step up through airplay on his Radio 1 show. Since then Merchandise have continued to excel themselves in the art of producing perfect pop moments - surely you need the seminal 7inch - if not for yourself, then for your soul!

LINE UP
Conrad Astley - Keyboards/Programming/Sampling
Brad B Wood - Bass/Acoustic Guitar/Vocals

Lo-Tech Solutions To Hi-Tech Solutions (2004-Cityscape Records)

FOR FANS OF
Belle And Sebastian
Four Tet
Mylo
Soft Cell

LINKS
Cityscape Records -

CONTACT