I don’t normally foist my very limited musical taste on to others, but readers will know that I am a big fan of the English band XTC.
See ‘XTC - an appreciation’.
Since the band stopped recording 20 years ago, principal songwriter Andy Partridge has kept himself busy (ish) with a handful of side projects.
The latest to see the light of day is a four-track collaboration with two fellow musicians, American Jen Olive and Swindon-based Stu Rowe, which is being released at the end of the month as The 3 Clubmen EP.
‘Aviatrix’, released in advance as a single, is described as ‘avant pop’. According to one review:
Flutes flutter, boy-girl harmonies are traded, and drums offer off-beat tattoos over a beguiling and consistent back beat. And as it heads towards its final destination, things seem to ramp up in intensity; the spaces lessen, the sonic ideas flow, the tones darken, and the textures deepen.
Do listen.