Album Review : The Shutka Champions - Chaos,Mutiny & Magic

I’d have forgiven myself for what felt like I was falling knee deep into the brain of Julian Barrett mid-writing of the second series of cult classic TV series The Mighty Boosh. If we work this sound through an old boot, a crab in pain and somewhere between A and G with added oaky timbre is the ‘Shutka note’, something I’d completely made up, but that’s what this feels like, this feels like ‘Chaos, Mutiny & Magic’.

Opening and album title track ‘Chaos, Mutiny & Magic’ is a drumbeat and a bass line straight out of the deep house handbook, a dim lit spinning room of sounds that graciously align with each other, lyrically leading you down into the rabbit hole. Still reeling ‘Hand In My Pocket’ weighs in with early 90s grunge guitar with a baggy indie twist a la Stone Roses, the monotonous lyrics recapitulate but part of me still feels like I’m searching for ‘the new sound’.

The spouse of a world war spy, clinically insane, most successful, James Dean admiring long distant relative of a folk legend has a song written after him. ‘Dennis Hopper’ could be the man that you try to motivate for more or people you watch from a distance, continuously unraveling  There is a Jimi Hendrix twang to that ever evident baggy synth/drum conglomerate with enough Derren Brown to take you under.



Into the middle ground of ‘Chaos, Mutiny & Magic’ is covered by a ‘Beetlebum’ meets Babybird, ode to a lady friend or companion of a Friday night. ‘It’s You’ is deeply introvert of looking into a pint glass, looking up in admiration, looking back down with every thought flowing through and then delving deep for the confidence then it flowing on. Take it or leave it, no matter where you are. ‘DB5’ is a shoot down, for your wants and needs, in a Bond track motion picture, walking along the street, Richard Ashcroft like down a backstreet to every spaghetti western you could think of.

‘Prenzlaeurberg’ (say that when you are drunk) pronounced Pre-nz-ler-berg is a borough of Berlin, steeped in history.  One can only assume after a visit to said city the Shutkas brought out experience which subsequently painted this picture of a journey and what they had visited in the exile. Back up and out of the rabbit hole is ‘Glorious’, the light shining brightly in the wonderland that Shutkas spin you through closely followed by ‘The Shutka Shanty’ a self-proclaiming confessional of where they've been and where they are going. A social commentary, pushing you back out of the door, into the bright lights of the current day.

The Shutka Champions aren't what you’d find in your top 40, but place them somewhere between 1991 and 1891 and you've got the drift. A nice listen of a sunny Sunday afternoon on Southsea seafront.

EP Review : Kassassin Street - Moloko Vellocet

One thing I pride myself on is covering the endless musical talent that Portsmouth has to offer, one band that are currently creating sounds that no other band in the city are Kassassin Street, a 5 piece previously introduced to SouthSolarCity when they supported Rolling Stone cover stars The Sheepdogs for ClubNME Portsmouth.

Back then they were on the brink of releasing 5 track EP ‘Finger On The Pulse’ a roller coaster recorded ‘in the middle of nowhere, in a barn’. Since then the band have gone on to storm a mid-afternoon set at The Wedgewood Rooms as part of Southsea Fest, to a widely near capacity audience that included myself. It is continuously clear from their most recent set that the band are ever growing and perfecting a sound that could be purposely morphed in many a direction. I pick up just under a week away from the release of new 3 track EP ‘Moloko Vellocet’ with a track run down and overall review.

It’s clear from the outset that EP opener ‘Play Dead’ intents to not do that, a social commentary run down (systematic/democratic/visual dreams with tattered seams) from lead singer Rowan Barnstable is bounded by pounding bass drum while conduced by the ever present pre-90’s shoe gaze guitar sound that Kassassin Street are forever converting to something more modern.

As building bridges goes ‘Play Dead’ could link continents,  the repetitive vocal of ‘I think that we play dead/and keep our heads under the cover’ that follows is somewhat resembling early Kasabian, aside a hybrid Charlatans/Stone Roses bacchanal until the track abruptly ceases.

‘Centre Straight Atom’ proceeds ‘Play Dead’ into a more raucous cataclasm of sounds, a lyrically more aggressive approach comes with a indie/electro edge, adjacent of the more contemporary bands of the late noughties. With their fingers on the pulse, this track has the ability to have feet tapping  and fists pumping among many.

Honorary mention goes to the magnificent drum skills of Kassassin Streets Nathan Hill (below) who continues to give and give to the cause, within the EP he is ever present and clear strong string in Kassassin Streets already strong bow.

If you've ever seen ‘A Clockwork Orange‘, the third and final track on ‘Moloko Vellocet’ is right up your street. ‘Talk In Riddles’ is hypnotising from the off, a psychedelic ode in which where the lead vocals from Rowan are mysterious yet brilliant, while every single member brings their own amount of workmanship to Kassassin Street the sound in which the band makes blends together almost effortlessly and ‘Talk In Riddles’ champions just that.

As the ever growing army behind Kassassin Street marches on ‘Moloko Vellocet’ boasts a maturing band moving forwards, while we can hear the influences the way the band adjust and twist leaves themselves space to grow and continue the journey they are on.

‘Moloko Vellocet’ is officially released on 13th of October at The Fat Fox in Southsea, Portsmouth.