Falling off stages and learning to live with obscurity have been
the wise watchwords of
Pat Fish
and the elegantly named Jazz
Butcher Conspiracy since they began their indie noodlings in the
early-'80s. Fuelled by a fondness for Carlsberg Special Brew and an
attachment to the chord progressions of post-punk stalwarts like
Orange Juice, they have quietly filled racks of second-hand record
stores with collections of songs of wit, warmth and melodic
muscularity. This compression of four albums begins with the cult
classic
Southern Mark Smith
, indulges in B-movie frippery (
Zombie Love
,
Jazz Butcher -v- Count Dracula
) and machismo baiting
(
Real Men
) before spreading out the genuine pop nuggets like
Girlfriend
,
Big Saturday
and
Partytime
. Too talented to be
dismissed as a whimsical pop eccentricity, the JBC deserve a wider
audience than the rancid moshpits that usually welcome them.
Three stars
Paul Davies
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