The problem with local compilations is that they can just contain a batch of the usual suspects and play out as a soundtrack of everything that’s as fashionable as the latest ladies trousers in Top Girl's window.
Along come SWITCHFLICKER, purveyors of eclectic clubs and maverick releases. Crossing the boards between dance, electronica, edgy weird folk music and shades of lo-fi punk rock, this compilation possibly paints a better picture of what Manchester is about. A spirited, inventive, melodic, creative, melting pot that doesn’t bow to other fashions, but actually creates its own.
THE UNHEARD provide a short introduction of showstopping sampled announcements and surface again in full with some computerised acoustic jazz . BEATS FOR BEGINNERS provide one of their best songs via the downbeat “Dracula” whilst the swooning, welcome inclusion of former Bandit Queen (look them up..) JAN WOLSTENHOLME talks about romance in the form of licking each others lips after eating a bag of chips. It’s good !.
CURVELINEAR’s barely held together melodies sit atop double bass, acoustic pickings and some of the best string sounds I’ve heard. The enigmatic GIDEON CONN rocks around the clock on jazz pills as he executes the unique sounds of “That’s What’s So Sad About It”. MAGIC ARM’s folky leanings and slightly moody organ make for easy, sunny , reflective listening and sit fittingly next to the accomplished JOHN STAMMER’s emotional epic, which floats on light as butterfly vocals and distant yesteryear sonics. A beautiful, light splash of melody. MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN evoke dreamy soundscapes, electric guitars, banjo effects and the more regular clatter of drums and driving bass.
INVISIBLE GIRL Julie Adamson puts behind the grinding mischief of being in The Fall for six years (then under the name of Nagle). “Fun” is a bubbling electronic slowdive, where Adamson haunts with her sweet melodies, balancing on the tip of what sounds like a vocoder. BELLE OF LES BOIS apart from having the best name on this CD mix electric guitar jangles, gripping female new wave harmonies and a cinematic sized sound. VALERIE are well worth the wait as the sequenced Sci-Fi rumbles menacingly, preluding the bands trademark shouts and shattering sense of frequencies. Class. SPORTING HEROE’s pub piano and echoes soon mutate into swathes of spaced out computer wizardry and acoustic strums. An odd, fun, concoction which lightens the mood before DAVE POTTS (Monaco and the wonderful RAM) falls in love with the dreamy sounds of the 60’s in his (maybe Sgt Pepperish) qualifying pop classic “Driving”.
Switchflicker have served a tempting slice of Manchester’s underworld which also connects to the City’s past and in doing so have found something with altogether more longevity.
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