PLEASE side
1. Clothes
2. The Germ
3. Harrow And Wealdstone
4. Pass The Apple
Please-Pass The Apple by Upset the Rhythm
SPIN SPIN THE DOGS side
1. Jumbo
Spin Spin the Dogs-Jumbo by Upset the Rhythm
2. Inner Peace
3. Biggest Fist
4. Stupid
5. New Bad Boy
Spin Spin The Dogs are a group who formed on the fringes of Nottingham in 2003. Presently London-grounded, the band are a four piece playing out with guitar, keyboard, rubbery bass, drums and a narrative-heavy vocal. Throughout several lineup changes the band have continually found their stride in different shoes, documenting this with a 10” on Fancy Paradise and a recent album on Gringo entitled “Leave Me In Leicester”. Spin Spin’s side of this record wonderfully captures a fact known to many who’ve seen the band live; that they abandoned conventional truth years ago. Their approach to writing songs is often a collaborative exercise, taking nonsensical twists and turns into streets of rambling postpunk and cul de sacs of dissonant melody.
Opener ‘Jumbo’ sets the tone for the record with its quotidian focus and attention-tossing interplay, sounding as natural and quintessentially English as it gets. A song dealing with childhood promise and the realities of growing up, ‘Jumbo’ lets the guitars freely roam. Forthright drums cement a core that singer Vincent Larkin uses to tumble his words across. “Every single word I say, could make you laugh, could make you cry”, confesses Vincent with his commanding yet oft-deadpan holler. It’s this tragicomic focus which best denotes the band’s personality. Shown further with track ‘Inner Peace’, which uncovers truths of divine idiocy in the face of a spiritual awakening. Other tracks like ‘Biggest Fist’ and ‘New Bad Boy’ (featuring some choice cowbell and horn blowing) also show off Spin Spin’s love for the outlandish right-siding of song structure, transmitting short bursts of energy which test the limits before plaintively collapsing.
On the other side of the record we have Please, a trio conceived in London in 2006, comprised of duelling guitarists and an activated drummer. Thus far one 10” exists in the Please cannon courtesy of Ouse Records which is an excellent introduction to their wayward psych-garage stomp. The band feature members of The Lowest Form, Cleckhudderfax and Isambard Kingston Brunel, so it comes as no surprise that Please also sound completely different. Together the threesome offer up ramshackle rhythms, trippy aerobic guitars played alongside unmannered vocals. Delivered with the heady rush you’d expect of punk, Please race 60s garage slap alongside wrong-footed prog through an obstacle course.
Frenzied, feverish guitars and crashing rhythms dominate first track ‘Clothes’, giving a taste of the band’s impish demeanor. Hot off the blocks ‘The Germ’ discusses themes of turning seasons amongst swirling space echo and cyclical clattering. Heavily instrumental and high-spirited Please tease with false endings and secret passageways, which exhibit well the extraordinary chemistry the three have forged. This side of the 12” cools off for the paranoid and cinematic ‘Harrow and Wealdstone’, its spooked guitars creating a darker mood before charging the gates for closer ‘Pass The Apple’. Finishing on a high note the last song’s chiming guitars and rattling drums sound effortlessly spontaneous and bags of fun.
Incidentally paintings of American songwriter Randy Newman in a relaxed yet dynamic pose are featured throughout the record’s artwork. Painstakingly hand crafted by members of both bands over days, months and years, the joint artwork is a good example of why this record works so well. Both bands share a common sense of humour, a fondness for each other and a mindset of offering the unexpected. Please and Spin Spin The Dogs combined on one LP make the UK underground a more fun place to lose your mind.
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