While the oddly-named coronavirus is slowly but surely shutting down the world, turning our familiar streets into a jungle of wild paranoia where once sane people now fight to the death for bog rolls, we - pluralis majestatis - at Terminal Sound Nuisance will not be deterred from accomplishing our sacred mission: the mass conversions of the unwashed masses through wit and righteousness in order to raise an army to fight against poor taste in punk-rock (common decency prohibits me to give examples). I know full well that so quixotic a quest might lead your humble servitor into self-harm, utter madness and the temptation to listen to bands who think aping the Smiths in 2020 is a sensible idea. But being a firm believer in delusional incentive, I shall persevere and spread the good word of punk. Which takes me to one of my favourite bands: Blyth Power.
A few years back, I tried to install a new holiday in the punk calendar called "Blyth Power Week". It was to be a full week of celebration devoted to Blyth Power including a Paris train-hopping challenge and cricket games. Alas, it never really took and after I realized that no one had actually watched - never mind played - cricket, I decided to bury the idea altogether. But now that the world is on the brink of collapse, it only seems fair to rave one last time about Blyth Power. So rejoice! For those of you brazen enough to be unconversant with the mighty BP, out of old-fashioned chivalry, I will deign to give an introduction. Following the demise of The Mob (you know, one of the most iconic anarchopunk bands ever or something) in 1983, Joseph and Curtis, along with Neil from Faction started a new project with a different vibe and a broader spectrum of influences. In fact, if you listen to The Mob's last 80's gig in Doncaster, the opening song, then called "Hurling times" with Joseph already on vocals, would become an early classic BP tune under the name "Chevy chase". Just add Sarah and Andy on backing vocals - the latter, beside being also the keyboard player and the band manager, was running All the Madmen Records - to this crew and you have the first BP lineup that would record the A Little Touch of Harry in the Night demo tape for 96 Tapes in december, 1984, and for All the Madmen, the Chevy Chase 12'' Ep sometime in 1985, the Junction Signal 12'' Ep in march, 1986 and the Ixion 12'' Ep and the Wicked Women, Wicked Men and Wicked Keepers Lp, both mostly recorded during the same session in december, 1986, at a time when Joseph had already sacked the band. It makes sense to associate this early lineup to the early BP anarcho pop-rock sound as immortalised in those recordings done between 1984 and 1986, works that still had a clear 80's punk vibe contrary to their later materials.
When I think about BP (and I often do), I usually place them in this wave of anarcho bands that escaped lazy categorisation and narrow defining processes and believed in free music, sometimes at the costly expense of good taste I have to admit. Don't start to freak out because of this hippie speech of mine, but there is no denying that, if bands like The Astronauts, Hysteria Ward, Culture Shock, Thatcher on Acid, We Are Going to Eat You and even Chumbawamba were still punk bands, they were not exactly "punk-rock bands" and dared to borrow from other, unchartered musical regions. It is rather fascinating to see that the rise of the hardcore and crust wave took place at about the same time as this third free anarcho wave (although I'd surmise the former involved a younger generation). They had a common purpose as both were trying to expand punk's horizon, but the means and the outcomes varied greatly. Still, it is quite amusing to notice that Wicked Women was released the same year as the Chaos UK / Extreme Noise Terror split Lp. Oh well, punk is a proteiform beast, able to convey the harshest sonic aggression as potently as the softest pop folk tunes. Well sorta.
Browsing through BP's website (and I strongly recommend you do because it is very well done and a great source of information), you quickly realize that if they did play with many other anarcho bands in the mid/late 80's, they also shared the stage with bands from the indie pop rock, psychedelic or free rock scenes like Cardiacs, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and even Shop Assistants (and Pulp!) and this variety and inclination toward the pop side of the moon makes perfect sense when you think about what BP were trying to create: an eccentric and theatrical blend of early '77 punk sound, folk music, pop rock, pub rock and a love for British popular culture, literature and History, trains and cricket. And I do understand that, on paper, such a project sounds a little absurd and a potential recipe for disaster, one that any reasonable punk should stay away from. But then, the tunes are just so insanely catchy, the singalong chorus so enthralling, the warm atmosphere so enticingly bizarre, the lyrics so poetic and derisive. There is a singularity to BP, a joyous melancholy, a taste for the epic tunes of yore and the countryside, for the personal adventures meeting the larger history, for tragic or comedic metaphors that are essentially, specifically English.
As mentioned Junction Signal was recorded in 1986 and released on All the Madmen and it is a recording that relevantly stand for what BP's early incarnation was about in terms of intents. Three of the four songs were recorded in Cold Storage studio in Brixton, a bigger studio, which, along with the presence of Grant Showbiz as the producer (he worked with bands like The Fall, Alternative TV or Androids of MU) account for the very clean sound of the 12''. I suppose you could argue that Junction Signal is slightly overproduced and you would not be entirely wrong as the songs would have benefited from a more direct, more organic sound (like on the song "Sordid tales" or the fist Ep that were recorded in Street Level Studio), however I don't think the production betrays the songs' nature. BP remain a highly difficult band to describe. Medieval anarcho pop punk? Anarcho folk rock? They certainly built on the catchiness of '77-inspired punk bands like Chron Gen or Naked, the moody poppiness of Zounds (Joseph also drummed for them) or Rubella Ballet, the strangeness of unidentified acts like The Fall or ATV and folk music. I have been told that Joseph's vocals were not unlike marmite, you either loved or hated them and I can see why as he has a very peculiar, dramatic accentuation and tone that makes him sound like a naughty minstrel or a medieval trickster. Whatever you think about his vocal style, it is at the core of BP's identity and completely unique as I cannot name another punk singer sounding even remotely like him. Another key element to BP is their almost excessive use of vocal harmonies and upbeat, infectious melodies that are but impossible not to sing along to. Some find the music too joyful, if not cheesy, and I can see why, as it is very accessible because of the intrinsically pop aspect of the music - even my mum could enjoy the music. Junction Signal is still a punk record though on the whole. The eponymous song is a Homeric mid-paced punk anthem full of harmonies with an epic singalong chorus that goes la-la-la and is just impossible to resist; "Bind their kings in chain" sounds akin to a medieval punky pub-rock tune with another brilliant melodic achievement for the chorus; "A tribute to admiral Byng" is an instrumental song demonstrating that you can be very tuneful without a singer; finally, the faster "Sordid tales from the ffucke masticke room" (it will be wisely renamed "Strawberries" later on) is an even more upbeat, sweet, bouncy and danceable number that makes me want to wear tights and jump around for some reason (but then, do I really need a reason to do that?). The lyrics (that you can read here) are unconventional for a punk band, closer to traditional folk music or even to poetry than snotty punk-rock. References to Thomas Hardy, Cromwell, the trial of Charles the First, adventure novels, mechanisation, pastoral tales, serve metaphors for social justice, liberation, submission, the need and desire to live a free life, the weight of history, but also loss and longing ("Who locked the door who holds the key who speaks the charms / Who gives His orders through the Junction Signal's arms"). I feel the imagerial words enrich the music and change its mood, confering a underlying sense of melancholy to the tunes that somehow balances the overall buoyancy, not unlike a bittersweet effect.
Junction Signal remains quite easy to find for cheap and another version of the Ep - in a 7'' format - also exists but with a blue cover and only two songs.
As mentioned Junction Signal was recorded in 1986 and released on All the Madmen and it is a recording that relevantly stand for what BP's early incarnation was about in terms of intents. Three of the four songs were recorded in Cold Storage studio in Brixton, a bigger studio, which, along with the presence of Grant Showbiz as the producer (he worked with bands like The Fall, Alternative TV or Androids of MU) account for the very clean sound of the 12''. I suppose you could argue that Junction Signal is slightly overproduced and you would not be entirely wrong as the songs would have benefited from a more direct, more organic sound (like on the song "Sordid tales" or the fist Ep that were recorded in Street Level Studio), however I don't think the production betrays the songs' nature. BP remain a highly difficult band to describe. Medieval anarcho pop punk? Anarcho folk rock? They certainly built on the catchiness of '77-inspired punk bands like Chron Gen or Naked, the moody poppiness of Zounds (Joseph also drummed for them) or Rubella Ballet, the strangeness of unidentified acts like The Fall or ATV and folk music. I have been told that Joseph's vocals were not unlike marmite, you either loved or hated them and I can see why as he has a very peculiar, dramatic accentuation and tone that makes him sound like a naughty minstrel or a medieval trickster. Whatever you think about his vocal style, it is at the core of BP's identity and completely unique as I cannot name another punk singer sounding even remotely like him. Another key element to BP is their almost excessive use of vocal harmonies and upbeat, infectious melodies that are but impossible not to sing along to. Some find the music too joyful, if not cheesy, and I can see why, as it is very accessible because of the intrinsically pop aspect of the music - even my mum could enjoy the music. Junction Signal is still a punk record though on the whole. The eponymous song is a Homeric mid-paced punk anthem full of harmonies with an epic singalong chorus that goes la-la-la and is just impossible to resist; "Bind their kings in chain" sounds akin to a medieval punky pub-rock tune with another brilliant melodic achievement for the chorus; "A tribute to admiral Byng" is an instrumental song demonstrating that you can be very tuneful without a singer; finally, the faster "Sordid tales from the ffucke masticke room" (it will be wisely renamed "Strawberries" later on) is an even more upbeat, sweet, bouncy and danceable number that makes me want to wear tights and jump around for some reason (but then, do I really need a reason to do that?). The lyrics (that you can read here) are unconventional for a punk band, closer to traditional folk music or even to poetry than snotty punk-rock. References to Thomas Hardy, Cromwell, the trial of Charles the First, adventure novels, mechanisation, pastoral tales, serve metaphors for social justice, liberation, submission, the need and desire to live a free life, the weight of history, but also loss and longing ("Who locked the door who holds the key who speaks the charms / Who gives His orders through the Junction Signal's arms"). I feel the imagerial words enrich the music and change its mood, confering a underlying sense of melancholy to the tunes that somehow balances the overall buoyancy, not unlike a bittersweet effect.
Junction Signal remains quite easy to find for cheap and another version of the Ep - in a 7'' format - also exists but with a blue cover and only two songs.
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