PALINDROME

They're back ! It seems like it's been a long time between albums and in fact it's been about 5 years but Sears, Swann, Scott and Newhouse are up to their usual high standards with "Palindrome". Some guest horns, guitar and female vocals on this one as well. No strings this time but there is some bassoon along with a multitude of instruments.

"The Angels Share" was inspired by Tom's family trip to Scotland.Apparently the title of this track refers to the alcohol that is lost in the aging process of whiskey in those wooden barrels.The sound collage to start the song is actually snippets of audio from that trip to Scotland.The music kicks in with bass, drums and piano and we get some sax playing over top. A laid back beauty. "Not Yet Awake" is mellow as the clarinet comes in. It does get fuller but the song continues to shift. Some nice deep sounds after 2 1/2 minutes.This is a nice ride. It turns heavy before 5 1/2 minutes. Female vocals after 7 minutes.This is dark. Dave mentions that the clarinets at the end of the song are a shamless tip of the hat to SOFT MACHINE / Hugh Hopper's "Virtually". Some fuzz bass here too for good measure. A very interesting track.

"Fishing In America" sounds incredible ! A low end melody with horns and piano coming and going. Billy mentions that fuzz bass drones at the end of each stanza. So cool. "Dynamite Is Not The Solution" builds and we get vocal melodies as well. Such a rich sound here with drums, horns and bass all helping out. Gorgeous track. "When Fela Comes To Town" has a good beat with the horns honking and screaming. It settles 2 minutes in and the piano helps out here. Fela is a reference to multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti. "King Fish" has this dreamy mood with guitar and other sounds.Vocals can be heard in the background. A change 2 minutes in and the vocals come to the fore.The lyrics are a tribute to Tom's eldest son who loves sports fishing.

"Bats And Birds" opens with piano and bass as horns come in after a minute. Dave mentions that the bass and flute drive the melody which he says is another tip of the hat to SOFT MACHINE. It picks up 3 minutes in with organ and check out the drumming ! Alto sax 5 minutes in leads.Love the keyboards 7 1/2 minutes as well. Aboe around 9 minutes then we get this experimental ending. "Yukapoe's Lament" is a laid back tune with plenty of wind instruments. Beautiful stuff.

I appreciate this band so much.That Canterbury flavour is still evident in that MUFFINS style of course.

Palindrome features a rejuvenated Muffins and is a huge improvement over their last two releases. They no longer seem bogged down with over-production and modern (read: 00's repeating the 80's) gimmickery. The songwriting is strong, and the production allows the songs to shine.

Some imagery conjured: A search party has set sail in an attempt to find wreckage (Amelia Earhart's?) in "Not Yet Awake". In "Fishing In America", a bathyscaphe is plumbing the depths for remains of the plane. So okay, much of this work reminds me of the Manna/Mirage era, and I make no apologies. 'Tis a good thing. On a different note, imagine a "Trick Of The Tail" outtake with Gabriel on vocals; that's where "Kingfish" takes me.

A remarkably cohesive effort for a work that I understand was assembled largely with remote contributions from the band members. Here's to modern methods and (relatively) vintage instruments!