What we have here is a double CD set from Dave Edwards to celebrate 25 years of Fiffdimension, with one disc acoustic and the other electric, both housed in the same digipak so by turning it over one has the correct artwork and track listing for one style and by turning it back it is the other, which is a nice idea. With his last compilation I said it was a little difficult to take in as there were so many different styles at play, and Dave told me he took that into consideration when putting this together with a much less eclectic approach, where he focused on his compositions for solo and small ensembles over the years.
There is no right or wrong way to play this, so I went for the acoustic first, and we are met with “I Can’t Play For Shit Blues” which starts with the lines “One day I am going to be a star, but I can’t be bothered to practice my guitar” and I am immediately transported back to the world of Wesley Willis and Alternative Tentacles and I am sure Jello Biafra would be interested in this. I can guarantee that anyone coming across this album and playing any track at random will wonder what is going on, with many running back to the safety of MoreFM, but there is a naïve fragility within this which feels very Sixties in style, and he moves into very experimental styles at times, with “Classical Rain Bucket” being a case in point.
When he turns electric, he presents a far more disturbing style, jagged and full of punk energy, with “King Street Boogie” sounding as if it was straight from the Marquee at the height of the scene. At times we get feedback, and the strong impression there is a method behind the chaotic madness, or is it the other way around? This is so far underground as to need a mining licence, yet there is something about it which is interesting and somewhat compelling even if there is a distinct lack of musical dexterity as we have someone who knows what they want to achieve and are going out there to do just that. Original, electric and obviously highly driven, this is an interesting set which is available individually on Bandcamp as well as the physical release.
Rating: 6/10
[bandcamp width=350 height=786 album=2718284155 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
[bandcamp width=350 height=786 album=2657311189 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
Links:
https://fiffdimension.com/
