The Leg: ‘An Eagle To Saturn’ (Song, By Toad Records)
One of the things about records being put out by people you know is that you do get a slight insight into at least something about the record that you might not otherwise. I first met Matthew Young of the very fine Song, By Toad Blog and latterly record company, five years ago, at a Camera Obscura gig in Edinburgh. It’s been great watching the label grow and seeing the (and I mean this as a compliment) weird and wonderful releases that have come out.
Let me start by a comment from Matthew on the label’s website about The Leg’s latest album: ‘I still can’t decide if I think this album is an amazing pop record or just plain fucking mental. Like most of the best albums I reckon it’s a bit of both.’ I think that’s probably very true. When I first put this on I really wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. It needed to be focused on and given some serious attention, rather than being approached as yet another record I needed to review.
Very wise. Because two of The Leg’s mainstays are both Pete Harvey and Alun Thomas. Pete Harvey has done a lot of work around the Edinburgh music scene and I look forward to his first solo album (I don’t know if such a thing is in existence yet but all the things of his I have heard over the years suggest this is going to be a very fine record indeed). Almost up against him is Alun Thomas, who is on drums and ‘singing.’
Barely half an hour long, what at first starts off as sounding almost cacophonous reveals itself to be an exciting and original album. Alun Thomas comes on like a Scots Tom Waits, Pete Harvey is a genius who seems to have been soaked in baroque and classical music as they made this record, and the end result is like a fiery Scotttish Pogues. This record will doubtless unnerve some but if you are prepared to give it the love and attention it deserves, you will find this a rewarding listen.
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