HATFIELD AND THE NORTH

I have had more difficulties with this album than I expected. I really like Rotter's Club and I thought this was something similar. To a certain degree, it is. But I find this album a lot more introvert than Rotter's Club.

The album starts with the Richard Sinclair's vocals and some melodic pieces. Then the door shuts down and the band retires into their own world. Some female vocals sings over some weirdo keyboard parts by Dave Stewart. He is backed by Pip Pyle's eccentric bass and some guitars from Phil Miller. This may sounds like National Health, you may say. Well, where National Health was very melodic, Hatfield And The North is....... dare I say, anti- melodic. The result is jam based jazz with some melodies. This album is not as avant- garde as Soft Machine's excesses. But it run their material pretty close at times.

This album requires a lot of time. So be prepared to let the cat walk the dog for a couple of nights. You will find yourself in a sofa, trying to penetrate this album. And if you get this album, you will find yourself rewarded.

I actually likes this album a lot. But it took me a lot of time to truly understand how good it is. I still prefer Rotter's Club though. But I still find a lot of good details in Hatfield and the North, their debut album. I think this album will amuse me for decades to come as much as it do now.

4 stars