Band /Artist: Custard Flux Album Title: Oxygen
Origin: USA Year: 2020
Label: Unlimited streaming via the free ‘Bandcamp’ app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Also 150 Limited Edition Vinyl LPs will be manufactured at DMS in brilliant Opaque Blue
Cover Artwork by Gregory Chamberlin. Please visit his work at www.gregorychamberlin.com
Band Contact https://custardflux.bandcamp.com/releases
Comment: Recommended for lovers of discordant styled psych weirdness.
Rating 8/10
Review:
When “Luck of Eden Hall” frontman Gregory Curvey, recently took time off from his band, you might have expected him to have explored an entirely new avenue of fresh pastures for his third ‘Custard Flux’ solo album ‘Oxygen’. Something, say, more in line with the bands he has quoted as being his early influences and musical inspirations. Such luminaries as 1970’s Progressive Rock bands ‘Yes or Genesis’ or indeed even his current favourites the”Mahavishnu Orchestra’.
But, for whatever reason, ‘Gregory’ has stayed totally true to his psych-prog-pop musical styled roots which he has been involved in for the past 30 years or so. However, with ‘Oxygen’ he decided to reduce the electrified instrumentation to a minimum. ‘Gregory’ quotes that “Custard Flux is now a new ninety-nine per cent electricity-free outlet” Such acoustically inclined instrumental control was made more possible in Gregory’s own home recording studio. The songwriting process being conducted during the first few weeks of lockdown in 2020. The home studio is the ideal place where together with other likeminded musicians he could experiment with all manner of acoustic instruments without the normal time limitations of a commercial studio. So for this particular project in the investigational phase, it was indeed a necessary exercise in order to work out the desired sound and compositional arrangements for each individual section of the music before the final recording stages commenced.
Paramount to the overall sound and an instrument central to the idea for minimising the input of electrical instruments was a 100-year-old harmonium which had been restored especially for this project,
Comprising ten tracks steeped in acoustic generated psychedelia the overall sound has a distinctly mid-sixties early seventies feel. Most definitely too the heavy acoustic edge directs the music headlong into Beatles territory especially ‘Rubber Soul’ (Beatles 6th Album) Such sounds spilling out from the discordant setting of acoustic chord manipulations. Linking up the various passages of organised mayhem there are excellent and powerful thrashing drums which guide the direction of the music ever forward with much ferocity and pace. There are so many enjoyable facets and hidden gems throughout the entire programme, gorgeous violin, wonderfully distorted fingerpicking, delightful saxophone intrusions and other bells and whistles to surprise and delight the listener at every turn. The vocals, distinctly in contrast to the noisy cacophony of the main body of music are delivered softly and with much style and expression.
Personnel:-
Curvey: Vox, Acoustic Guitars, Bowed Acoustic Guitar, Flying V, Acoustic Bass, Harmonium, Harpsichord, Piano, Drum Kit
Vito Greco: Acoustic Guitars, Electric Guitar, Brazilian Guitar
Timothy Prettyman: Double Bass
Walt Prettyman: Violin
Mars Williams: Saxophones
A final and nice sentiment from Gregory Curvey is and I quote “I’d like to dedicate these songs to all of the people worldwide who lost their lives to this awful virus”.
