IN SEARCH OF PLAICE

In search of Plaice - funny title, no doubt a mutilated take on Hawkwind's 'In Search Of Space' ?! Tubilah Dog were a tripped-out alternative band frequenting the 'festival' scene in the U.K. to which Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles, Hippy Slags (to name a few) were sometime a part of. This particular album getting a beautifully presented vinyl release on the 'Beard of Stars' label. Sensational art- work indeed. Centred around guitarist/vocalist Steve Mills (also the main composer), no 2 songs feature the same line-up, thus resulting in some very interesting outcomes. 'Watching...' is a powerful little rocker with a clean and crisp sound (the drums sounding really good here) and is built around a memorable riff and catchy chorus but is not an attempt at Top 40 trash, no no, they're much too good for that. 'Inside The Circle' is a 6 min slow-paced track which drifts along peacefully with lightly strummed guitar, subtle bass, hand percussion and vox - most enjoyable. 'Wyrd Romance' is an almost 8 min ultra-cool, hard-rocking rave-up which climaxes with an, umm, climax !! Not too bad but a tad over-long. 'Flowers In The Forest' sounds like a traditional, folky piece of music, with Northumbrian Pipes and electronic treatments - quite an eclectic combination. 'Flat Broke and Busted' is an acoustic sounding, singer/songwriter styled track. On Side 2 we have 'Friends', which is heavily programmed and ravey - the only piece which sounds like any other on the album. 'Domitius' is an absolute psychedelic 'spin-out' comprising of electronic drones, weird vocals and sounds, ending with some crunching guitar riffs (very Black Sabbath) and strange effects - Space-Rock gone bonkers !! 'O.W.V.' is a 7 min jam oriented song, recorded live during a soundcheck in Berlin, and has the synthetic sounding electronic hard-rock vibe of some of the more recent Hawkwind albums. Overall, what T-Dog offers the listener is variety, and because of its variety, it may appeal to many.