The Bevis Frond - New River Head (Woronzow 1991) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip

Though Nick Saloman can never be said to necessarily, or at least obviously, progress from release to release, he does have a knack for ensuring that each Bevis Frond album has something interesting. It's when he puts everything together to create a consistently strong record that notice is due, and the Frond's 1991 effort stands out in that regard. His slightly mournful, weary vocals remain unchanged, as does the general feeling of pop/psych-rock with jamming tendencies. The core duo of Martin Crowley on drums and Saloman on everything else also continues, supplemented by a variety of guest performers. There's just that little something more here, though, that marks New River Head as a good starting point for anyone interested in discovering more about the Frond. Beginning with the pre-recorded sounds of an old-school British announcer, New River Head wastes no time shifting from ho-hum sampling to blistering guitar work. The first proper track, an instrumental called "White Sun", includes the saxophone of Cyke Bancroft (who's illustrated some of The Bevis Frond's album sleeves) alongside Nick Saloman's nuanced riff. The same style comes up in "Solar Marmalade", a studio jam that hits a peak early and remains at that level until the end of its eight-minute run. "Waving," is a gentle folk ballad which adds a violin for an effect that's just melancholy enough and results in an honestly heart-catching little track. Following that is the title song, a strong feedback crunch that welds Saloman's ear for a good hook with his considerable playing abilities well. The disc continues in the same, fine general vein, ranging from the Byrds-inflected guitar chime of "He'd Be a Diamond" to the soft, then shroomy, head-nodding "Stain on the Sun." The standout is "The Miskatonic Variations II," a nearly 17-minute ambient-to-full-blown-noise jam recorded with a guest bassist, guitarist, and sax player, not to mention Current 93's lead figure, David Tibet, adding some chants on top of it all. Throw in a variety of other niceties here and there, like the brief garage-rock blasts "Undertaker" and "Chinese Burn," and New River Head winds up being a slice of Frond at his high-powered best. Ned Raggett AMG

Tracklisting:

A1. White Sun
A2. Drowned
A3. She's Entitled To
A4. Waving
A5. Down In The Well
A6. New River Head

B1. Solar Marmalade
B2. Wild Jack Hammer
B3. He'd Be A Diamond
B4. Undertaker
B5. Stain On The Sun

C1. Motherdust
C2. Cuvie
C3. Thankless Task
C4. The Miskatonic Variations II

D1. It Won't Come Again
D2. Blurred Vsion
D3. Son Of Many Mothers
D4. Chinese Burn
D5. God Speed You To Earth

The Bevis Frond is
Nick Saloman: guitars, bass, organs, electric piano, recorder, vocals
Martin Crowley: drums

With
Cyke Bancroft: saxophones, blues harp.
Barry Dransfield: violins
Adrian Shaw: bass on B1, C4
Bari Watts: lead guitar on B2, C4, D2
David Tibet: Tibetan chanting on C4

All songs by B. Frond. Produced by him too.
Recorded at Goldust, Bromley, Kent.