A LITTLE MAN AND A HOUSE AND THE WHOLE WORLD WINDOW

Truly one of those bands you'll either love or hate, the Cardiacs polarise opinions with everyone who's heard them. There's something endearingly English and wacky about the Cardiacs that no other nation have been able to replicate before or since. On this one they've finally got the big studio sound they so deserved.

This album is a bit more straightforward in construction than their masterpiece "Sing to God' from '95. Therefore it's a much easier listen. That's not to say that things are easy... Things never are with the Cardiacs. You'll hear some truly deranged time signatures accompanied by start-stop keyboards and guitars which vary in speed dramatically. It's all very exciting and unpredictable as you'd come to expect from this bunch of whacked out loonies. For a quick reference check out 'Tarred and Feathered' on You Tube to see what you'll be letting yourself in for.

Consistently brilliant, without a dull moment due to the delightful crazy tight musicianship and frantic staccato between all players which sound as tight as 'Beefheart and his Magic Band' at their prime.

There's a fair bit of 'Madness' with muscle flung in as well amongst the melee which only increases the brilliance. This recording is far easier to consume, being more vulnerable than 'Sing to God' but remains just as schizophrenic and intense.

It's such a shame that no one could make head nor tail of them in '88. They should have been superstars .

The Cardiacs drove me to drink and I never even had the decency to thank them.