Mr Strange – Contact

Stranger than fiction…

A recent jaunt over on the Isle of Wight has me drinking coffee in the Sports Centre at Sandown. Flicking through a local news paper I came across an article about one of the Islands bands plugging their new release. I’m intrigued by the ‘Mr Strange’ name so iPhone in hand, a quick dive into Apple Music and I have ‘Contact’, literally, that very same album in the plug.

Well this is a bit different from my more recent listening, almost a bit of a throwback at times with layers of influence sometimes difficult to pin down. I hear all the way back to 70’s in places, its funky, electronic, rock, indie with a sprinkle of strangeness.

You could arguably compare (this album) with many other bands but only for fleeting moments during whatever track is playing. The Cramps, T-Rex, Zappa, Julian Cope and a whole boat load more of whatever your background brings to this table; I dunno? Psychedelic  glam could coin it… Also, it’s lovely and ‘goth’ throughout.

‘Contact’ keeps you interested and plays with you in strange ways. It has humour, fun and even a dark serious side. This is the 6^th studio album from Saul, Damian and Ant Strange so I’m gonna have to go check their other stuff after I’ve worn this one out.

I like Mr Strange, they remind me so much of many other bands I’ve loved over the years. Not being able to nail their genre is probable their best appeal, so I guess they are one of the few out there doing their own thing, (cool) and this is something I’ll always gravitate to.

Highly recommended album, go grab a digital copy or a CD…

Links –

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/album/3oorwv5aQ2Zm5uSBQZUWaw

Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/gb/album/contact/1497233341

Website- http://www.mrstrangemedia.com

Bandcamp – https://mrstrange.bandcamp.com

 

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Lazars Finest – We Become The Sun

Gravitate to the shining star…

Casting back to Canned Static Review April 2019 (Miss Lily Olay) my ears became acquainted with a wonderful neo-psychedelic Dutch duo named Lazars Finest. A breath of fresh air in an over populated World of sound-a-likes. I was immediately drawn to them for one simple reason… They are out there doing their own thing.

A heavy influence of the 60’s is stamped throughout their work (another reason to like them) and this time round with ‘We Become The Sun’ I hear a move to a more progressive psychedelic rock feel. Much more of a late 60’s era jangling in the backdrop; think ‘the Beatles’ or ‘Traffic’ meet ‘The 13^th Floor Elevators’ and you’re in the zone, you’ll dig it once you’re tuned in.

‘We Become The Sun’ is cool, unpretentious and best of all; ‘Lazars Finest’ are out there doing what they do for all the right reasons. Get over to their BandCamp page and buy this single and check out their other releases too.

https://lazarsfinest.bandcamp.com/track/we-become-the-sun