BARITONIA

According to their Bandcamp site, these guys are purveyors of tritonal wankery, and offer an oasis of ProgMathsyFusion to soothe your weary earholes. The guys behind the band are Matt Deacon (guitar, gynth, mouse, jaws harp) and Chris Jago (drums, finger cymbal). Although they originally met at a music college in Liverpool, they are now living rather separate lives with Matt in New Zealand and Chris in Los Angeles. So how they manage to produce music quite like this says a lot about tenacity and perseverance, as well as something about the internet. This is the first new album in five years, and back then they were a four-piece, but they have released a couple of EP's during the intervening period, and this is more of a follow on from 'Self-Loathing Joe' than 'Space Roots' (the cover of the EP was of a coffee mug, the cover of this album is of a stain left on a table when said coffee cup is removed). The other big change of course, is that even though Matt is on the other side of the world from the UK, he managed to convince David of BEM to release this album, which will undoubtedly assist in it getting far more awareness than previously.

Complex and interweaving, this never comes across as a duo, and certainly not one that is split on different continents. When Matt and I met up recently we had some long discussions on the impact on music of guitarists such as Allan Holdsworth and Frank Zappa, and it is possible to hear the influences of both within his own style. This is music that sometimes contains elements of Hawkwind, but these are just in the background, allowing Matt to move away and create something quite different. Some of the keyboards sounds are very dated, very Eighties, but within the music they definitely work. Matt isn't afraid to use an acoustic guitar when he wants to either, it is all about using the right tool for the job, and sometimes he slows down what he is doing and lets Chris pick up the pace. This is not a solo artist with a drum machine, this is a duo working and bouncing ideas off each other.

I have long been a fan of these guys, and I can only hope that by signing with BEM their music will be become more widely known and appreciated, as it deserves it.