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T O P I C    R E V I E W
lemonade kid Posted - 10/03/2014 : 20:46:40
Thanks for this one Sweet Disorder--went out and got On an On (2012) immediately. Their name we hoped was an homage to Syd Barrett and Arthur Lee. Syd, yes--Arthur it seems is for the Kinks' "Arthur". Still..not bad company.





Syd Arthur

These funky folkies are sons and heirs of those Canterbury musicians who did whimsical things with psychedelic and progressive rock


-The Guardian

On And On...full album play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxTlP-EOOPY

Hometown: Canterbury, Kent.

The lineup: Liam Magill (guitar, vocals), Raven Bush (violin), Fred Rother (drums), Joel Magill (bass).


The background: You don't get the impression that many of the performers involved were particularly keen to be seen as part of any Seattle scene at the height of grunge, and even though it's always been a popular place to buy joss sticks and beads we hardly saw bands operating around Dingwalls and environs, during the reign of terror that was Britpop, clambering to be part of any Camden scene.

The same is hardly true of the so-called Canterbury scene of the late 60s and early 70s. Maybe it was the drugs or the laidback, happy stoner vibe (man), but the groups loosely affiliated to the scene based largely around the college halls and bars of the titular town in Kent such as Caravan, Soft Machine, Gong and Camel generally seemed cool with the connections being made between themselves and their contemporaries, although one cannot rule out the possibility that they were too out of their gourd to notice when journalists did it.

Syd Arthur are sons and heirs of those Canterbury musicians who did sometimes whimsical, sometimes intense things with psychedelic and progressive rock and whose improvisational approach made the avant-garde seem accessible, and vice versa. Actually, one of Syd Arthur Ð violinist Raven Bush, which we smuttily assumed was a pot-induced pubic alias - is the nephew and heir of Kate Bush, a Kent girl herself who grew up surrounded by local musicians (but enough already about her extracurricular proclivities).

Winners of the Canterbury Best Local Band competition and formerly known first as Grumpy Jumper and then Moshka, they eventually adopted the name Syd Arthur. It fits them well, redolent as it is of long-lost rural idylls and days gone by Ð the "Syd" bit because of Barrett and "Arthur" with its intimations of the Kinks' album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). There are only four of them but they make a sound that suggests there are loads of them, all beards and, well, grumpy jumpers, noodling away on a variety of electric and unplugged instruments.

There are traces of folk and world music in their sound, and you can hear some of the intricacies of jazz and rhythms of dance Ð the band themselves call what they do "psychedelic funk rock" and that really suits a song like Secrets of the Planet Soul, which makes us think of Jamiroquai jamming with Jethro Tull, being as it is fairly equal parts fol-de-rol and funky. The Tale of As Is is Santana-esque while Kingdoms of Experience, an earlier single, could be Maroon 5 tackling something proggy and complex. The pastoral element of the Canterbury sound is made most explicit on the acoustic Berber Mountain Song while the single Willow Tree is like folk played by a funk band, or funk played by a folk band. We're not sure of the extent of their interest in such Canterbury staples as zen mysticism and Buddhism although titles such as ... Planet Soul suggest a pro-Gaian hippie consciousness at work here. Someone get out the flying teapot.

The buzz: "Taking their musical directions from the psychedelic leanings of Canterbury past, and throwing in some jazz-style improvisation and a big slice of folk and funk."

The truth: Taxi! To the A2!

Most likely to: Reek of patchouli.

Least likely to: Start a knitwear company called Grumpy Jumpers. Although now that you mention it ...

What to buy: The single Willow Tree is available now. Their eponymous debut album will be released this summer.

File next to: Caravan, Soft Machine, Gong, Hatfield and the North.

Exit Domino
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjFJZT5JWb8&list=PL5C54684F5055A31B






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"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".

-Aldous Huxley
2   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
lemonade kid Posted - 24/06/2016 : 20:06:13
Syd Arthur
Moving World

2014




Sound Mirror...full album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6RT_TIapuk&list=PLb37R31zHQy2DUR9IZerncDtokg6U-f4m


AllMusic Review by Timothy Monger

Psych rock is a term that has been tossed around loosely in the new millennium, often applied to an otherwise straightforward act who punctuate their songs with the occasional vintage synth or a well-placed tape echo. Similarly, as a style, prog rock usually tends to refer to bands boasting a higher concept or an aesthetic of high-minded, improvisational musicianship.

Canterbury quartet Syd Arthur comes by both of these labels honestly and academically, taking the most positive attributes from both while keeping a strong focus on quality songcraft. Much has already been made of their strong ties to the classic Canterbury Scene of the late '60s and early '70s, and even though the label has been wildly rebranded, their signing with a reborn Harvest Records had people clambering to cast them as the Soft Machine's second coming.

Their 2012 debut, On and On, did present a young band with strong jazz, rock, and funk chops who had a taste for classic psychedelia, but there is more to them than their (and our) reverence for the past. Their 2014 sophomore album Sound Mirror is a logical extension of the styles put forth on their first release, both of which were produced and recorded by the band at their own Wicker Studios in London. Their mix of technical prowess and pop sensibility is put immediately on display with "Garden of Time," which skitters along neatly in its unconventional time signature, yet remains surprisingly accessible.

A more noticeable shift toward something new occurs with the lead single "Hometown Blues," an enchanting, piano-led rocker with a sort of early-Waterboys mystique and a wonderfully snaky melody. Another foray into more pop-minded territory is the excellent "Autograph," which trips back and forth from tight, percolating punchiness to lovely, spaced-out bliss in just of three-and-a-half minutes. And this brevity is what is unique about how Syd Arthur approach their game. They offer the feeling of prog and psych rock in digestible, single-serving sizes.

Only one track on Sound Mirror exceeds four minutes ("Garden of Time"). Even their most free-form freakout, the instrumental "Singularity," only lets its hair down for a few minutes before shifting into the dramatic (and brief) closer "Sink Hole." If indeed they are carrying the torch for the classic Canterbury sound, they're doing it smartly and on their own unique terms, with another impressive stop on their road of discovery.



________________________________________________

The actual writing of a song usually comes in the form of a realisation.
I can't contrive a song. Ð GENE CLARK
The sweet disorder Posted - 13/03/2014 : 19:57:34
Hey LK

No problem and thanks for the background info on the band. Shame Arthur isn't our Arthur but I quite like the Arthur that it is - if that makes any sense!!

SD

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