Friday 2 May 2008

Modern Eon - Fiction Tales


This one is excellent. A true find in the Scratchy tradition. Even I lost my nerve when first confronted with it's scary Orwellian post-punk cover. Such ugliness! But do not fear, my friends of broad and somewhat forgiving taste, for this is a minor gem.

An angular but spacious guitar sound and clear, prominent bass jell seamlessly. Breathy vocals, often multi-tracked, add an ethereality that is almost comforting, almost. The drums stand out as the band's signature; driving tom-toms with a touch of machine-gun snare and very little cymbal. And, hark! Is that a saxophone? Odd production touches and synth weirdness jump out now and again, just to keep you off-balance.

A friend of mine was a figure in the Liverpool scene of this period and I excitedly asked him if he knew of
Modern Eon. "Yeah, I auditioned to be their drummer once. But they wanted all sorts of breaks and fancy shamncy stuff so I thought bollux to it. They were nice lads, but moody; specially the bass player." Ah, bass players, isn't it always thus? This link is to a wonderful blog, dedicated to a wonderful city at a wonderful point in its history.

http://music-isms.blogspot.com/

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