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SCHNAUSER

Crossover Prog • United Kingdom


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Schnauser picture
Schnauser biography
Welcome to the world of SCHNAUSER - a place where intelligent pop, melodic prog, and 60s psychedelia collide at a box junction and swap insurance details.

SCHNAUSER started in 2005 as Alan STRAWBRIDGE's solo project after the break up of THE LUCKY BISHOPS, with the first album, 'KILL ALL HUMANS' recorded at home and with a limited online release. The pop/psych/prog sound developed into a more cohesive band sound with 'THE SOUND OF MEAT' which coincided with the addition of John FOWLE and Holly MCINTOSH to the line-up, and the band became a strong live presence in Bristol over the next few years supporting BLITZEN TRAPPER, ARIEL PINK, MEAT PUPPETS, LOVELY EGGS, THE ZOMBIES, EUROS CHILDS AND SWEET BABOO in their hometown.

Duncan GAMMON joined the band on keyboards in 2011 and reinforced the prog credentials considerably, adding a new dimension of detail to the songs and a new angle to the songwriting. The interim album 'THE MISSING LINK' was released as a download in 2011 and featured some strange pop/prog music written and recorded as a follow up to 'THE SOUND OF MEAT' but it was effectively another solo release while the band worked on their fourth release during 2011 and 2012.

The first full band album 'WHERE BUSINESS MEETS FASHION' was self-released in 2013, and received many enthusiastic reviews in the UK national press and on many respected psych/prog blog sites - Prog Rock magazine being one of the most vehement supporters.

Drummer John FOWLE moved on to pastures new in 2013, with Jasper WILLIAMS stepping ably into the breach on drums, bringing a Pip PYLE/Bill BRUFORD-esque feel to the new material which is shaping up as a proggier follow up to WBMF.

Early 2014, the band signed to CHERRY RED who are releasing their 5th album on ESOTERIC ANTENNA in September 2014.

Biography provided by the artist and used with permission

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SCHNAUSER discography


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SCHNAUSER top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.00 | 1 ratings
Kill All Humans
2005
4.50 | 2 ratings
The Sound of Meat
2010
3.83 | 6 ratings
Where Business Meets Fashion
2013
3.71 | 17 ratings
Protein for Everyone
2014
3.82 | 18 ratings
Irritant
2017
4.00 | 5 ratings
Altra Seccatura
2022

SCHNAUSER Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

SCHNAUSER Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

SCHNAUSER Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

SCHNAUSER Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings
The Missing Link
2009
0.00 | 0 ratings
Good Looking Boy
2009
4.00 | 1 ratings
As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still
2014

SCHNAUSER Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Altra Seccatura by SCHNAUSER album cover Studio Album, 2022
4.00 | 5 ratings

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Altra Seccatura
Schnauser Crossover Prog

Review by BrufordFreak
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars The pop jazz neoCanterburians from Bristol are back with another foray into--this one even more close to the modern psych-pop trends that Anglo bands like Antique Seeking Nuns, Tame Impala, Syd Arthur, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, and, most recently, Zopp have explored (as well as Swedish band Dungen).

1. "Obligations" (3:14) sounds like something that might have come from one of the Antique Seeking Nuns releases 20 years ago. Either that or 3RDegree. (8.75/10)

2. "Daddy" (5:35) Tame Impala/King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard/Syd Arthur and XTC/The Beatles. Great vocal arrangements. (8.75/10)

3. "Waltz of the Four Dark Corners" (3:50) a very interesting sound that conjures up memories of some 1960s songs while remaining totally 21st Century NeoCanterbury ((8.667/10)

4. "Positive" (3:43) pulsing accordion opens this one before strummed "gypsy" guitar and "Hurdy Gurdy"-treated voice enters. The vocal becomes more and more reminiscent of The Beatles' "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite". Still, a good song. Definitely a top three. (9/10)

5. "Do the Death" (4:34) sounds like it's going to be a song from a show like The Rocky Horror Picture Show--both in title and music. Oddly happy/upbeat song about the pandemic and human history's dance with epidemics and plagues. (8.667/10)

6. "Bistro!" (4:58) a very odd song in which the vocalist and band seem to be at complete odds throughout--the forced, straining, pitchy vocalist seems to be in a universe in which the "key" is exclusively of his own making (and rules). At the same time, there is a very Andy Partridge feel to it. (8.5/10)

7. "Forever" (3:53) nice pop music and catchy melodies. Another top three song. (8.75/10)

8. "Man Friday" (4:18) opens with organ play over walk-paced rock rhythm section. Hammond gets strong before disappearing to make way for the vocalist(s) but returns for . Cute song. (8.75/10)

9. "The Crane" (3:48) another song that opens sounding very, very much like a John Lennon/Beatles song. But, at the 0:30 mark the horns and bass instruments enter to take things into a different direction: one that could still be Beatles but has a little more klezmer feel and sound to it. (8.667/10)

10. Twisted Solar (6:05) a slowed-down, gentle melodic song to finish the album. Definitely the prettiest, most engaging music on the album as well as the most engaging vocal melody. Definitely could've been an ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS song. My final top three song. (9/10)

Total Time 43:58

Well-composed and -performed funny, quirky/zesty music that is intended to support meaningful/message-delivering lyrics--which is a disadvantage for me since I do not hear or process words in music or poetry very well. I will say one thing about the vocals: the melodies presented by Alan & company are not ones that draw me in very well. Like the melodies of The Beatles, they just don't resonate within my being. But still, the upbeat nature of this music is a very nice change from the heavier music often prevalent in Prog World.

B/four stars; a nice addition of upbeat, quirky pop constructs upbeat that can help to provide a nice uplift against all the negativity of these dark times.

 Irritant by SCHNAUSER album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.82 | 18 ratings

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Irritant
Schnauser Crossover Prog

Review by BrufordFreak
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Part XTC and ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS, part FARMERS MARKET and HOMUNCULUS RES, this band of blokes from Bristol make complex, upbeat, quirky, humorous music over which are sung quite clever, humorous lyrics in many forms and styles.

1. "Spiele mit Katzen" (4:21) (8.5/10)

2. "Chinese Brainworm (T'nia Solium)" (4:48) with a country-Kavus Torabi twang. (9/10)

3. "Re-Mortgaging the Nest of Hairs" (4:12) a mid-tempo instrumental (8/10)

4. "Sorry, You Were Out" (1:24) reminds me of 80s indie-quirk-band IT'S IMMATERIAL.

5. "Have You Got PPI" (4:44) continues from the previous song with an account of a kind of phone telemarketing call. Fun vocal and nice instrumental contributions. (8.5/10)

6. "How Bout a Kiss" (4:06) So XTC-ish! Uncanny! (8.5/10)

7. "Fail Better" (6:35) cool synth octave lead in gives this one an early 70s Canterbury feel. The slow pace and BEATLES-esque vocal arrangements make for an interesting, pretty song. Would've fit nicely on last years THE WINSTONS' debut. (9/10)

8. "Hypertension" (4:15) So many cool quirky-jazz, Canterbury-style things going on this instrumental. Could fit nicely into a HOMUNCULUS RES album. My favorite track on the album. (9/10)

9. "A New Atmosphere" (8:23) klezmer like in opening instruments and rhythm structure, but the B-part goes more prog-Canterbury. Alternates back and forth like this for the first minute before it morphs a little to support a multi- voice vocal--kind of like an early Brit-pop "flower power" band (or very early YES). At the end of the sixth minute it switches into a slow, plodding speed over which a spoken poem is delivered in a NIGEL TUFNEL way. Meant to be funny? I'm sorry, I can't help but laugh. (9/10)

10. "The Monday Club" (7:44) definitely a piece of fusion--fusing jazz, pop, folk, psychedelia, and some proggy sounds. The chorus reminds me of Devon's MAGIC BUS. Love the HOMUNCULUS RES-like instrumental frenzy in the sixth and seventh minutes. Kind of a "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting" outro. (9/10)

11. "Speile-Jangle" (2:17) strange filler-like song to end the album!?! (7.5/10)

Solid four star album; an excellent album of upbeat, quirky prog pop in a somewhat Canterbury style. Recommended for your listening explorations.

 Irritant by SCHNAUSER album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.82 | 18 ratings

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Irritant
Schnauser Crossover Prog

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

4 stars

With a twelve-year history and five full albums to their name, Alan Strawbridge, Duncan Gammon, Holly McIntosh and Jasper Williams are veterans of the music scene, and now they have embarked on the next step of their journey by bringing on board saxophonist Dino Christodoulou, and by signing with those nice chaps at BEM. Vocalist and guitarist Alan Strawbridge says: 'We're all really looking forward with Bad Elephant; enthusiastic and like-minded chaps with great taste and even better facial hair.' This is my first experience of Schnauser, and I am already starting to wonder what the other albums sound like, as this strange hotch-potch of styles is incredibly appealing, even though I'm not sure why.

Trying to describe this is, um, difficult. Okay, so let's get the obvious ones out of the way first ' they're heavily influenced by the Canterbury scene, and I am sure that the addition of the sax has exacerbated this, but there are heaps of musical references taken from the psychedelic scene of the late Sixties. Add to that a power pop sound that has elements of The Mothers of Invention, as well as the beat scene, and a wicked sense of humour then you may be getting close. I think I deserve a prize for picking up on the single melody line from 'Roobarb' which appears on 'Re-Mortgaging The Nest of Hairs' (did I mention humour?).

This is a very British album, there is just no way that any other country could bring together a mess of influences like this and make it into something that is quite special. There is a real 'indie' feel to much of this, and there will be plenty of progheads aghast at this being described as progressive, as they sound nothing like Yes or Genesis. No, they don't, they are Schnauser, and they're great.

 As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still by SCHNAUSER album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 2014
4.00 | 1 ratings

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As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still
Schnauser Crossover Prog

Review by Windhawk
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

— First review of this album —
4 stars UK band SCHNAUSER was formed back in 2005, and have gradually increased their standing as a live and studio band ever since. With their fourth studio album "Where Business Meets Fashion" from 2013 interest in the band soared, with plenty of critics and music magazines heralding the qualities of this band. Which does makes this single an interesting one. Released through psychedelic rock specialist label Fruits de Mer Records, this two track, limited edition vinyl single see the band take on two classic progressive rock tracks: As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still (Soft Machine) and Astral Traveller (Yes). Two compositions you wouldn't expect too have too much in common.

You can tell that these are two very different tracks also in these renditions by Schnauser, Astral Traveller a more dreamladen, naive and light toned experience, while As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still is a darker toned affair sporting a greater deal of variety, a more brooding and introspective overall mood and a quirkier overall structure. Yet Schnauser does transform both of these songs into creations with a more uniform nature than you'd expect, to the point of both songs appearing as natural choices to be on the same production by the same band.

A distinct frail and vintage sounding organ as a dominating trait on both songs gives them a strong and similar identity, and the use of carefully effects treated vocals and gentle psych-oriented guitar reverbs further strengthens the impression that these songs have a natural connection. That these and other details also gives the impression that we're dealing with 1960's psychedelic rock rather than 70's progressive rock a part of that totality. Electric piano and what may or may not be additional vintage keyboards soaring in the latter parts of the Soft Machine cover does expand the scope of this song somewhat, as does the use of darker toned, compact guitar details at times. Alongside the quirkier and less naturally flowing vocal patterns giving this track a darker mood contrasting the more naive atmosphere of Astral Traveller.

Still, both compositions comes across as songs that naturally belongs together in the renditions of Schnauser, which presumably is a massive compliment to the abilities of this fine UK band to craft and maintain a strong and distinct sound of their own.

Thanks to kev rowland for the artist addition.

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