Paperjam

Rumble by The Psychotic Reaction

Music // Jim // 26th August 2005

The Psychotic Reaction are a band from deepest Kent who got in touch after reading our piece on Animals That Swim, the upshot was “we are a bit strange too, you might like our CD”.

OK. I replied and was pleasantly surprised when a package arrived a few days later, then I started to worry. My experience of musicians who deliberately attempt to eschew the mainstream and be purposefully “strange” has not always been good. Was I going to have to sit through twenty-minute prog-rock dirges involving lengthy one-note harmonica solos? Or perhaps some bloke playing his guitar with an egg-whisk while his girlfriend types Croatian poetry into a Speak & Spell in the background?

Slapping Rumble into the computer it was nice to see iTunes recognise the album and list all the tracks, my level of concern was piqued when I saw that the last track was 17 minutes long but I managed to regain composure as the lazy sounding strums of Godfrey’s Grave gave way to the jagged sounding guitars of instrumental Dance of The Midwich Cuckoos.

As the accompanying press release describes, this is what used to be called indie music. This was until some unidentified point in the 1990s where anyone who played gigs and wore trainers was suddenly considered incredibly alternative, leaving us with the retro cack that is now laughingly described as alternative music.

Rumble is the sound of a band playing tunes that are a bit out of the ordinary, but by no means inaccessible, without the benefit of flash production equipment or lashings of strings. In fact it all seems to have been recorded over several years on a four track, in someone’s garden, where it was raining.

Not that any of that is a bad thing in my book. Especially as there are some great tracks on this album, the best of the earlier heavy stuff is What’s Under The Stairs? before things slow down a touch with the chiming Cocoon and I’m Not Ready Yet, which comes over all Rock n’ Roll Suicide at the end.

Helpfully, The Psychotic Reaction have compiled some key influences on their web site to save me a bit of time. The shadow hangs of The Wedding Present certainly hangs over the record in terms of feel, but things are a bit livelier and varied than such a comparison would have you expect. The influence of The Flaming Lips is also apparent in the naming and composition of the track A Beautiful Hypothesis Destroyed By An Ugly Fact which sounds mostly like it is going on next door.

Personally my favourite thing on the whole album is the jaunty ode to Kent maritime industry that is The Medway Crab Fishermen. Maybe this is because I lived in Gillingham when I was a little kid, but probably not.

As an aside; I have to say, I’m really not sure about the geezer on the phone bits in between songs. Did my head in.

The Psychotic Reaction sound like they would be good value in person, some evidence of this is provided by Put Your Weight On Me which has been recorded live in front of an audience (at closing time from the sounds of it). These are the sort of people I wish were playing in the pubs round here rather than the endless Coldplay and Radiohead disciples that clog up the place. Even if it isn’t your sort of thing you certainly wouldn’t be bored.

If any of this has tickled your fancy I recommend you check out the web site below and get hold of a copy of the album which they will send you for a bargain £7. This will no doubt bring you some good karma and support a band who are producing genuinely interesting independent music all on their own.

CAUTION: There is another band called Psychotic Reaction out there. They are an American punk band. Don't get confused.

The Psychotic Reation Links...

The Psychotic Reaction Web Site

Site with plenty of info and the opportunity to purchase the album.

Download some tracks

A collection of tracks from the album can be downloaded for free