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Big Block 454 - Their coats flapped like God's chops CD (album) cover

THEIR COATS FLAPPED LIKE GOD'S CHOPS

Big Block 454

RIO/Avant-Prog


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4 stars Well, when I thought I had heard everything, Big Block 454 comes around to my MP3 player and gives my face a good slapping.

This album is their third from last and the one before the excellent Bratislava album... which is the one before their excellent new album. I do not know, but hopefully the band knows. They are putting all their albums out as downloads on their Bandcamp site. A good choice for all parties. Both for them and for us, the listeners.

OK, so we are up for some eccentric British RIO/Avant garde again. Not quite........

Ever heard about the artist formely known as Prince ? Big Block 454 may have done that. It is very strange, and very funny for the listener, that a Manchester (from England) band emigrates to Prince's musical spheres. Not only that. More shocks are in store. Big Block 454 does a gospel track in the form of a pretty close to a commercial hit called Hull Is Full Of Grubby Slappers. I would had loved seeing and hearing a full gospel choir take on this song. The result would had been superb. No, I am not sarcastic/ironic. And no, I am both stone cold sober and not on drugs. I seriously mean it. Hull Is Full Of Grubby Slappers is actually a lovely gospel tune and a potential big hit for the band. OK, 7 years too late it is though. Anyway, it is an excellent song and a stand out track on this album.

The rest of the album is still somewhere in Prince's spheres with a lot of playful funky tunes and vibes. Most of the songs are also melodic. Did I somewhere in time mention RIO/Avant- Garde ? Well, not as in semi-intellectual pling-plong. There is nothing of that stuff here. Instead, the material here is very focused and.......well, melodic. Yes, Big Block 454 is still very eccentric on this album in the British way of eccentrism. Think Fawlty Towers. Think Little Britain. Think Monty Python's Flying Circus. Big Block 454 is in the same cultural sphere. But on this album, they are also very much in the artist formely known as Prince's world. I have listened a lot to Prince in my life. Both his stuff before and after he became "formally known as" and I find a lot of similarities between his albums Around the World in a Day, Sign O Times and what Big Block 454 has done on this album.

So put your dance shoes on and either stream or download this album. Or you can just listen to this album and wonder if there is anything left on this planet you have not heard. In any case; Their Coats Flapped Like God's Chops is a superb album where most songs and experiments comes off with flying lamb chops.

4.5 stars

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Posted Tuesday, March 29, 2011 | Review Permalink

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