retoryka

One of the depressing aspects of doing these musings is that every so often you stumble across something that you fear will sneak out into record world and quickly disappear without being given a chance, a listen or be marvelled at in a way it so richly deserves. Enter then Retoryka whose four track set ‘super maudlin’ EP has I don’t mind admitting, been making frequent trips back and forth to take up residency on our hi-fidelity player since arriving in our gaff. Described in passing by its author as ‘uneasy listening’ – an unfair summoning up that might well deter the inquisitive passing traffic and in truth couldn’t be further from the truth if it moved its postcode to the back of beyond. Chock full of sly nuggets the EP opens with ‘the pictures’ – a hulking gruff slice of wiring and fracturing mountain blues which on any given day could be viewed as some cleverly convened studio summit meeting playing host to a Bevis Frond face-off with Robyn Hitchcock. The sets sore thumb and hitherto poppiest moment comes courtesy of the bubble grooved ‘the great beauty’ – a cut armed and possessed with something of the coolly caressed swagger and swoon of Marc Bolan found here trimmed in all manner of 50’s teen traced glam grooved motifs. And then hidden and buried deep amid the grooves sits ‘super maudlin’ – comes on you like a rash building evermore wave after wave steadily building in urgency, tension and definition to sweep you along in its strangely ascending bitter sweet euphoria leaving the curtain closing ‘dark entertainment’ to exact and weave its darkly manifesting final bow in a most unravelling and sour tipped tear stained manner its shadowy withdrawal cued upon a fracturing psychosis that’s somewhat cued from the dark depths of Bowie’s Berlin days. Ultra limited physical copies – 50 only – ahead of its digital release available from everyday life recordings –  http://everydayliferecordings.bigcartel.com/product/retoryka-super-maudlin-ep