Look beneath the surface of most medium-sized towns and cities in the UK and you are likely to find some of the more left-field, sometimes bizarre and frankly more interesting music than which is immediately apparent. In the first instalment of this new monthly series, Jude Clarke gives us the lowdown on the musicians in her home town of Cambridge that she thinks you may like - or even need - to know more about.
Think ‘Cambridge’ and ‘Music’, and the chances are that most people are likely to just think of Pink Floyd, or even, lord help us, Hamfatter (yeah, thanks for that, Dragons Den…). Having lived in this fine and compact city for nigh-on twenty years, though, I am pleased to say that, with a bit of ferreting around, and a lot of devoted gig-attendance at The Best Small Venue in Town™ The Portland Arms, things here are a lot more diverse, experimental, challenging and just at times outright fun than that. Things that range from the shambolic indiepop cardicore of The Puncture Repair Kit to The Resistance’s confrontational noise-drone (with psychedelic backdrops); from the scene’s own supergroup, of sorts, in the form of Canaveral, with their high-concept Bill Drummond-isms and ever-changing line up, to the righteous (and Kerrang-endorsed) intelli-post-hardcore of Tupolev Ghost and Cathode Ray Syndrome’s Cambridge/Brighton (prog-post-) Rock; taking in some gorgeous string-flecked loveliness from Fuzzy Lights, pared-down electronics and vitriol from The Vichy Government, The Last Dinosaur’s warm acoustics, layered harmonies and ‘kitchen sink’ aesthetic, and last but not least the one-man enigma that is Um, for whom I’ve just spent the last five minutes trying to construct a snappy soundbite description, and resolutely failing so to do…
This is intended to be more a summary of those bands and artists that I rate and enjoy, then, rather than anything purporting to be an overview of the entire Cambridge music scene. I put the same set of questions to each of the bands concerned and they all answered in their own individual and often entertaining way. They’ve also each donated a track so that you can take a listen for yourself. Continue Reading
