Singing in your native tongue can often be a protest in itself. But in 1980s Wales, as English-owned holiday cottages were razed and English signposts defaced, the prevailing soundtrack of harps, choirs and traditional folk songs just wasn’t enough for a new generation of militants.
Bangor beatnicks Ectogram release Concentric Neckwear today – their fifth album (1st for Pure Pop Records)
Electric Deckchair is a double CD and it is the fourth release from this Welsh experimental trio, comprising of 2 guitars, drums, vocals, and may I add, the odd bad synth here and there. It is very much in a Velvet Underground/Syd Barrett style, and overall the compositions are simplistic in a way and seem to be aimed at anyone who can make sense of it. Both CD’s comprise of 5 tracks apiece, and both, in time length, come under the 50 minute mark. As a starting point I will say with honesty that Ectogram will certainly not be to everyone’s taste, mine included, and could indeed be termed as a very hard listen. Just for the record.
Once you have played with notably unhinged Krautrock heroes Faust and entitled a track Opal Soft Green Kumquat Of The Sun, then you know no fear. Ectogram have done both these things, and done them while looking like raddled hippies who live in sheds, and – defying all received logic – remain rather fantastic.
