MATCHING MOLE

After Robert Wyatt's antecedent band "SOFT MACHINE" got further and further into jazz there seemed to be no place for the drummer Wyatt any longer. He left "SOFT MACHINE" and set up his own Canterbury project in the end of 1971, called "MATCHING MOLE". His band mates, at least for the first, self titled album, used to be Dave Sinclair (CARAVAN) on Keyboards, Bill MacCormick (801, Brian Eno, Quiet Sun) on bass and Phil Miller (Delivery, National Health, Hafield & the North) on guitars. The cumulative canterbury expertise so to speak.

And everyone knowing Robert Wyatt knows what to expect from his projects: Pure Canterbury. Matching Mole is no exception, free-jazz like parts with expanded, quite complex jams and soloing, Wyatt's fragile and beautiful voice, colloquy like vocals as well as canterbury typical humor.

"O Caroline" is a beautiful lovesong written for Wyatt's girlfriend at that time, Caroline Coon. It always reminds me of "Sea Song" from his amazing solo release "Rock Bottom". One of the best songs to experience Wyatt's beautiful voice, which definitely needs getting used to though. The album consists of different, separated songs but nevertheless there seem to be smooth transitions. "Instand Pussy" features some onomatopoeia by Wyatt over jazzy rythms besides elegiac e piano chords. Seamlessly passing into "Signed Curtain" you can experience the mellow but humorous side of Canterbury. Nonsense lyrics describing the structure of the song e.g. "This is the first verse...and this is the corus or parhaps it's a bridge or just another part of this song that I'm singing..." "Part of the Dance" is a true highlight! Personally I think this one toghether with it's successional "Instant Kitten" is a kind of embodiment of canterbury. It features several complex jams and seems to be completely improvised, quite jazzy at times. The rest of the album turns out to be resembling, instrumental jams with extended solos, sophisticated drumming and "pearling" e piano. The last song "Immediate Courtain" features atmospherical mellotron soundscapes, actually it's a kind of longsome mellotron solo. A worthy punch line of a great album.

"Matching Mole" is a remarkable Canterbury album led by the icon of the scene. His Voice, only featured in the first half of the album, is distinctive, maybe for the whole genre...Besides his solo release "Rock Bottom" and SOFT MACHINE'S "Third" my favorite Wyatt related output. Everyone slightly interested in Canterbury should have listened to this one, highly recommended!