Melthair & The Loverats
Melthair & The Loverats
Genres: ambient, folk, instrumental, experimental, electronica
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About Melthair & The Loverats
MELTHAIR & THE LOVERATS Melthair released their legendary debut album, Sex Wrangler, in June 2006. It's genesis lay in the seas of Spain (and the consumption of biblical quantities of sea water) and it's an album jam packed with scintilating drones and enchanting covers (Euros Childs, Ten Benson, The Scorpions). The release was critically acclaimed and won an army of admiring fans, including Irish Pop sensation, Brian McFadden, who told everyone that Melthair's music was 'really odd, but I love it'. Whilst the music made both celebrities and fans want to touch themselves with disbelief, the bands sassy dress sense also caught the eye. The Autumn saw Melthair's second release. Whilst the listeners may have been hoping for more Sex Wrangler style shenanigans, Melthair changed musical directions and moved further into the realms of genius. 'Hornblower' was recorded rapidly using revolutionary recording strategies in Dorset Kicking off with 'Hebefile' the album blew all expectations out of the water. Whilst some critics were less convinced ("Sounds like Hell"...."Harrowing"..."Sick Vandals") it didn't stop the band declaring it to be a masterpiece and only a fool or a Jean Michel Jarre fan would disagree. Now at the peak of their collective powers, Melthair treated the fans to a remix album out just in time for Christmas. Thoughtful and beguiling remixes of some Melthair classics, including Ragworm's Dreams, made this an essential record. The fourth official Melthair release was longer in gestation than it's predecessors, but the wait was more than worth it. 'Skimming the Cream' is a certified masterpiece, crammed full of pure futuristic gold. Produced to perfection by Pro Squid, picking a favourite song is like picking your favourite nugget of pure gold from a pile of equally sized nuggets of pure gold. The likes of 'My Little Boat' (featuring Lucky Strike's greatest ever vocal), 'So Cold It's Hot', 'Tunnels' and 'Gettin Steamy' are works of untouchable greatness that douse that listener's ears in cream (a cream made of pure gold), and then lather it into a foam of unattainable desire. However whilst 'Skimming the Cream' may have elevated Melthair to dizzy new heights (over 400 plays for one of their songs on MySpace!) perhaps the pressure of being great started to create cracks within the Melthair family. Boom (the bands Synth playing mastermind) plans to go solo created uneasiness, the unfair distribution of royalties was troubling and the untalked about port addictions were all problems bubbling under the surface. It was in this atmosphere that the band retreated into the wilderness of West Wales to record their next album. Entitled 'We Sold Our Mustard Seeds to Satan, Now We Regret It (We Bow Down Before You, Mother Nature)' the album broke away from the Melthair template of short songs about being touched and/or frozen, and instead wandered off into the realms of elongated song structures and soundscapes. Full of bravado after the success of 'Skimming the Cream' the band decided they were bigger than Mother Nature herself and taunted her with tinfoil and laughing and stuff. The musical results were, at first, appalling to Melthair ears and as a result the album was buried in the mud and snow to be forgotten forever. However amongst fears that a sheep may ingest the CD and die, so the album was dug up and cleaned off. A few recordings from the portable recording studio (which the band don't recall making) were tacked on and the album released. Critically and commercially ignored (rumours that half the band are unaware of the album remain unfounded) the album proves to be Melthair's most challenging listen. Perhaps it should have been left in the mud... perhaps it's just too futuristic for the listeners ears. Only the people of 2064 will be able to answer that. Whilst 'Mustard Seeds' was challenging the few cool intelligent people who listened it, so a Melthair live album was released. 'Live at Middleton Bay' is a furiously executed charge through some Melthair classics which instantly destroyed the notion that Melthair "don't do live". Filled with demented passion, standout tracks include a terrifying 'Jam Tarts' and a reworked version of 'Ragworm's Dream'. Influenced by the movie masterpiece 'You Have Got Mail', the album is a tantalising glimpse of what can happen when Melthair go live! No one could have predicted the next chapter in Melthair's incredible story. Whilst some critics suggested a major fall-out, others that the pressure was just too much, all they got in return was silence from the Melthair camp. Months past without a sound, whilst fellow Creamhorn band ByeBall sucked in all the plaudits like a triumphant hoover. Then a new single, and boy what a single! 'Summer Song' was the song no one expected but everyone wanted. A pop gem of summer wonderlust it was hailed as instant masterpiece. The following album 'Touchology' is THE album of Melthair's career so far. Recorded over months, not days, it is a musical adventure that rips open the stratosphere of your mind, caresses the brain with a wizard's tail and douses it all in supa sweet sounds. Every track is a standout, with the likes of M Canard, Touchology, Cuttlefish and Summer Song summing up the very essence of life in notes and words and stuff. The majesty of the album was instantly apparent at the first official playback at the Creamhorn Records awards ceremony in Andulucia. The crowd danced every track into the stars an were literally spasming out of control at the sounds. One listener's head even split open and needed urgent medical treated. The album is that good. Actually it's even better than that. Fact! The end of summer saw two E.P's from Melthair. Both are a playful nod to Melthair's sexy wrangling past and showcase a band at the peak of their powers toying with the fans. Recorded in a room of perpetual darkness (surrounded by the threat of 'motherfucking scorpions'), the band relaxed in between sessions by ridge running through the hills of Andulicia and sailing round in a small inflatable pirate ship. 'The Power of Flight E.P.' interprets the movements of various birds via the medium of ukele, xylophone and giant beer. The 'Length Charmer E.P.' is influenced by the bands promotional tour of Morocco the year before and is full of exotic delight. Both demand regular repeated plays. Disproving the tired, old saying that it's all about quality not quantity, Melthair slipped out a 2 live albums, both recorded at MeltFest 2007. Both are an embarassment (of riches) and include radical new tracks, such as the ground breaking Creme-Brulee song trilogy. Special mention has to go to 'Sexy' Joyce Grenfell for her guiding words and her cassette tapes in helping to shape those albums. After the glut of material released from the Andulucian recording sessions and the triumph of 'Touchology', Melthair, stuffed with success, spent the autumn relaxing like a fat snake filled with pleasure. However the band began to move once more on New Year's Eve for a special recording session in 'Pleasure Box', Boom's private recording studio. After a request from a charasmatic South African record producer, Melthair had agreed to lay down an Elvis Presley cover for a special release. Featuring The Crazy Jacket as a guest voclaist Melthair recorded 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' , the result being a heartbreakingly beautiful re-interpretation. Jet Kiss's spoken word interlude is one the most poignant Melthair moments ever and a classic cover version has been born! The song can be found on a compilation along side artists such as Alec Empire and is rumoured to be kicking up a storm in South Africa. Whilst Melthair began to 'finger some pies' overseas, at home they moved into a new dimension, becoming RADIO 1 PLAYLISTED ARTISTS. Picked up by Radio 1 DJ and music taste maker Bethan Elfin, the band featured on her show with 'Summer Song' setting people's ears on fire across Wales. A golden moment in Melthair's career it was a saucy slap across the face of all those doubters and a hearty hug to all the believers. Melthair were officially great and no one could doubt it. Attention turned to the next album and the pressure was on. Amongst the decadence of being radio 1 playlisted artists, the question hanging over the band was that of how could they possibly follow up 'Touchology'? The Melthair collective stepped out of the media spotlight and retreated into the hills of mid Wales and the spiritual melting pot of Mellte Studios. Rejoining the line up, a weathered Lucky Strike (creating a fashion statement with his wool/sass combination) and the enigmatic Creamy Smooth, back from a solo tour of Canada. However mystery and intrigue soon engulfed the band. Rumours are ripe that the band were involved strange rituals involving water from the River Mellte, and were sleeping in woodlands. Pigeon De La Mer was conspicuous by her absence, Boom was brooding, and the amount of ale biblical. The fact that certain band members took to staring ungainly at a sheep they had christened Snowball highlights the unusual frame of mind of the band at this time. It seems that the need to replace the high of being Radio 1 Playlisted artists with a bigger high had lead to certain band members developing dangerous 'domie' habits. In this sort of environment the resulting music was always going to be interesting brew. The resulting album, National Record of Desire is a brooding masterpiece somehow combining melancholy and velvet laced eroticism. Described as 'heartbreakingly wonderful' it is the sound of an emotional raw Melthair, wrapped up in a fine velvet blanket, with sharp jaggedly bits pointing out. It's not the album Bethan Elfin would have expected. It's not the album the fans would have expected. But it's what they have got and they are being spoilt rotten! The summer of 2008 echoed with rumours that Melthair were making a classic dance album, and anticipation grew with the release of the groundbreaking music video "Things You Like" (Featuring the mysterious figure Foil Face). Then Melthair pulled off one of the most audacious promotional acts the music scene has seen for sometime. During the Glorious Field Festival Melthair commandeered a public convenience and for the next 12 hours classic Melthair sounds beamed out of the portacabin! It was a groundbreaking marketing exercise and won the band many new admirers. To cap the day off Melthair played two acoustic sets. The first showcased some exciting new songs and new collaborator M C Hypnodog. The second set was a run through of some Melthair classics that reduced one fan to tears. That's the magic of Melthair. A title for the new dance album, WreckLaceLuxury, was leaked to the fans, although it's release date remained a mystery. As debates raged as to when the dance album was coming, Melthair truly turned the music scene upside down by suddenly releasing a folk album! Recorded partly at The Glorious Field Festival, and partly at The Greenman Festival in Brecon, it was an unexpected but delightful gift from the band. 'Big Yellow Beacon' is the sound of a browned up Melthair taking on Bob Dylan at his own game and then beating him soundly with a stylophone. Fans were bewildered but happy, with the album containing some of Melthair's most intense lyrics. In particular the song 'Snowball' is one of the band's most profoundly sad moments. The words heart wrenching and breath taking hardly do it justice. Following on from the curve ball that was the folk album, Melthair finally blessed the fans with the release of Wrecklace Luxury. A stunning masterpiece, the album was hailed as 'the most intelligent dance album of our time'. Once again Melthair had mastered a genre, this time dance, and served it up sprinkled with their own special relish. Unbelievable. If Wrecklace Luxury produces a feeling of indescribable wonder, then the long awaited follow up album is simply indescribable. Once again months past with no new music from the Melthair camp, the only sounds being rumours that the long awaited Gold project may be underway. When the band did finally reunite in Selsig and Chocolate Face Studios the fans were ecstatic - the line up sounded like a recipe for pure gold… Pulpy Smalls was back on the scene, hotter than ever, The Black Rail was coming up with pure musical gems, KAOS on the ..Island.. had a new jumper, Brave Potatoes, Almond Finger and MC Catrin Planet were fizzing and BOOM was back with a pink casio tucked under his arm. Hints that Melthair were heading off into uncharted waters were evident from the start: A switch from brown to orange was announced. A bizarre Manic Street Preachers cover was performed on the side of a hill. A giant mound of seeds was incorporated into the studio (perhaps inspiration from the Melthair backed movie You Do Have Got A Text Message which is rumoured to be in the early stages of production). To top it all a killer slurry pit gave the studio atmosphere an uneasy edge. The resulting album is unlike anything else ever - a confusing and challenging, yet alluring, album. The sound can only be described as being a musical orange soup with strong hints of both Sex Wrangler and Mustard Seeds era Melthair. Mixed into this soup are farm yard creatures, pink keyboards, croissants, welsh hills and Boom's lyrical prowess. The soup is inside a diamond encrusted flask which is resting on the dashboard of wicker rocket heading for outerspace. Imagine what that soup would sound like and you're halfway to beginning to understand the album. Simply entitled 'The Orange Train', the album is either "Outrageously brave and compelling" (Bran, The Mold Farm Gazette) or "Career suicide" (Hot Tod, Pellet News). You decide. 'The Orange Train' is pulling away from the station. Do you want to be onboard for the ride or forever be stuck in a waiting room? Listen to this album and see what happens. Woooo woooo! Once again Melthair retreated from the music scene, leaving fans to ponder 'The Orange Train' for a prolonged period. Whilst new music was not forthcoming, members of the band began displaying hitherto unknown acting talents. Creamhorn Films, a new project, relying on various Melthair members released a number of ground breaking short films in 2010. As well as acting band members also developed a highly successful ale review website that was soon featured on a renowned online fashion magazine – Melthair at their cutting edge best. But whilst some fans began to consider ale reviews as possibly the future of music, making all sounds redundant, Melthair returned with a scintillating new album. 'Glass Cobras and Erotic Clocks' shocked fans – it was an album that had been created over 4 years! Whilst some critics questioned the artistic merit of digging up unreleased songs, fans simply looked upon these long lost gems as old friends, maturing like fine wines in the Melthair vaults. And of course the fans were right. Alongside these vintage cuts (including Lucky Strike's third best ever vocal) a rich array of new events (to call them songs would be to undervalue them) were revealed. Show casing Boom as his streetwise best, Melthair took on organ rich ballads (the implausibly good 'Medium Ground'), Soul ('Where did you get that end bit from?') Rap ('Finishing Move') and Grime ('Hush…') and of course conquered them all. A darkly breath taking album. Indeed as Melthair approach their 5th birthday it seems the band are like the Jurassic Park series, developing and growing more intriguing with each release, despite the rumours that the size of the audience is diminishing. Music and dinosaurs. What do the fans really know about either? Maybe Melthair's next release could solve that dilemma and many of the world's problems…. 'Cretaceous Park' released in May 2011 is an album not of our time. Sounding like the very origins of music, it is brooding, compulsive, raw, complex and magnificent. Like trying to clone a dinosaur by using frog DNA and some prehistoric fly blood it can be simply incomprehensible and wonderous. Indeed it is much like a drop of water chaotically running down the back of a hand. It is far from the Radio 1 sounds that made Melthair famous and like Jurassic Park 3 it is likely to be criminally ignored. However this in album that would sound timeless 60 million years in the past or 60 million years in the future. It is Music that would sit comfortably in the fossil record or in deep space. Cretaceous Park is the amber coated dragonfly that sits proudly on top of the Melthair catalogue – look with your ears and see it with your mind. What an album.
Taken from Last.fm
26 listeners · 474 plays via Last.fm