MATCHING MOLE

Matching Mole's debut album is a very interesting one because it starts very accessible and easy-going with the delicious (and terribly unrepresentative) "O caroline", followed by two more songs with Robert Wyatt's vocals, and from there it slowly breaks down completely, each song more experimental and noisy than the next. In that way, it is very varied, but also very uneven.

"Part of the Dance" and "Instant kitten" are the best of the more fusion-directed songs on the album, while "Dedicated to hugh, but you weren't listening" is a bit more noisy and then "Beer as in braindeer" (fantastic name) is rather a mess in all it's experimentation. Pretty comparable to Crimson sogs such as "Providence" and "Moonchild", actually. "Instant curtain" is a floaty and not entirely uninteresting track consising (i think) entirely of sounds made by Robert Wyatt on the mellotron. Reminds me of some of the more ambient pieces by Godspeed You! Black Emperor in places.

All in all, "Matching Mole" is a rather charming, eccentric, irresistible and english album with one of the best album covers i have ever seen. Personally, i had only heard "O caroline" before, but as soon as i had heard that for the first time, i started searching like mad for the album and, while i was terribly dissapointed by expecially the second half of the album, i am very happy to have it in my collection. If only for the fact that it is one of the few albums i know of where David Sinclair, one of my absolute favourite keyboardists ever, contributed.