By K.A. Laity
Here's a new release by a remarkable woman in danger of being overlooked in a market crowded with Xmas product and far too many soporific X-Factor Idols of Disney uniformity and blandness. Truly remarkable and independent voices have a hard time being heard at all, let alone getting a decent chance at finding an audience in the overcrowded cacophony that is the net.
Haunted by defunct machines, faded variety acts and the darkest English folk tales, Spacedog are known for their strangely unsettling, ethereal music, performed on vocals, theremin, saw, keyboard and percussion, and for the ‘uncanny’ robots who perform with them live on stage.
I've written about Spacedog and Sarah Angliss before; I was so pleased to have a chance to see them perform last June (and yes, I got to play the theremin after the show). I'm even more pleased to say that at long last they have released a CD Juice for the Baby. Of course I immediately downloaded it as soon as I heard about it (can't remember if that was on Facebook or Twitter) from Bandcamp.I'm happy to report it's just as wonderful as their live performance. There's the ethereal music, theremin, vintage sound clips, and beautiful vocals and recitations all woven together in a seamless waking dream of surreal affect. You can't see the robots, but you know they're there.
The songs range from the eerie opener "Electric Lullabye" featuring and the somehow comfortable "My Death" to the heartbreaking "For Laika" as well as the captivating (and favourite at the moment, because it's owls) "Owl Club" featuring guest Professor Elemental.And who can resist a song channeling the late great Tommy Cooper? Even better, 25% of the proceeds from that song's downloads will go to the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund: jus' like that!
This collection is magical: it manages to feel both like a seance with a lost past and an ultra-modern dream. Angliss and her co-horts (which include sister Jenny on vocals and percussionist/composer Stephen Hiscock as well as the guests) bring a sense of wonder to the mechanical and electronic, a glitter of the uncanny which makes the coldness of technology seem warmly alive. Highly recommended!