Second
album by this Melbourne duo. The first I heard too, but I don’t recall much of
it. It ain’t easy keeping track of the family tree of Melbourne’s underground,
but these cats can be found on many of its branches both as a couple and
seperately. Snake is better known by the name of Al Montfort, Sleeper by the
name of Amy Hill. The two of them form one half of Terry, a band with a similar
pop sensibility. If you appreciate the experimental side of Terry, the Sleeper
and Friends Lp on R.I.P. Society and/or loved the Eastlink records Al was
involved with, you’re bound to find something to like on this album too.
Fresco
Shed brings to
mind the Velvet Underground for more than one reason. Like the Velvets, Sleeper
and Snake are arty and don’t shy away from experimentation. Don’t expect wild
improvisation and free jazz skronk though. The experimentation I’m talking
about is of a more subtle nature. It’s expressed in the instrumentation – on
the back of the sleeve we see Amy playing a cello and Al a soprano saxophone -
and compositon of these ten songs. Furthermore the tunes are all well written
minimalist pop songs that sorta meander and bring to mind those lazy laidback
Sunday mornings Lou sang about a long time ago. Lastly there are beautiful
vocal harmonies to be heard on this record, which should come as no surprise to
those already familiar with Terry. Although this album is unconventional in
many ways, at least to yours truly, the songs are ultimately pop tunes that are
easy on the ear. Fresco Shed is an enjoyable listen from start to end,
which should appeal to art school kids, who smoke without fully inhaling whilst
wearing fashionable berets as well as cynical old punks that have been turning
grey for years and think they’ve heard it all such as myself. That’s a pretty
broad scope. Chances are you fit in somewhere in between so why not give this a
hear?
Hear the thing here: https://lsdclub.bandcamp.com/album/fresco-shed.
