COTTONWOODHILL

This was the very first Krautrock record I ever heard and also one of my favourites. After this I couldn't get enough of the stuff. A lot of Krautrock is rather hit and miss, especially in the late seventies and I think Brainticket went the same way. Cottonwoodhill must have been mindblowing stuff in 1971. It's very unusual and not like other music from that time. Nurse With Wound liked this one so much that in 1984 they ripped off an entire side of the record with a song called Brained by Falling Masonry which is basically the same track as Brainticket parts 1&2 on this record, with Clint Ruin of Foetus adding some great vocals. Certainly the wackiest of all the Brainticket albums, it features a crazy, spaced out female vocalist named Dawn Muir who sounds about ready to collapse in a heap or fall flat on her face. Brilliant! There are lots of effected guitar, funky bass and freaky organ playing throughout, as well as some laid back flute. It appeals to me in all the right ways - much more than the proceeding albums which were lame in comparison, although Psychonaut and Celestial Ocean are still good in a different sounding way. You know, for a Swiss band, Dawn Muir sounds very English which is probably a good thing as that's the language she rants in on this album. Ahhh! I remember having snowball fights in the back garden in 2006 with this playing in the background. Good memories. The front cover kind of sums this record up. A lot of folk might find it a bit too weird. Oh, and it's great for cycling to as well, as it's all quite upbeat. Great stuff.