½ Dove – ½ Pigeon by Micko & the Mellotronics
½ Dove – ½ Pigeon – Micko & the Mellotronics (Landline Records)
★★★★☆
The debut album by Micko & the Mellotronics features well crafted and well produced Brit Pop. The record has many highlights and no filler.
Psychedelic Shirt, is a fast paced ride through the ears and eyes of a teenage persona who seems to have focused in on a recent psychedelic shirt purchase. The said shirt then becomes a statement of his individuality. There are some cool riffs at the start of this 3min 30sec tune, almost Batman-esque in delivery and just as entertaining. There are stacks of sound effects whizzing through this tune and a snazzy lead break at the end. It's definitely got some POW!, BIFF! and UMPH! to it. Very cool.
You killed my father is another 3min 30sec tune. Some delicate acoustic guitar arpeggios against some interesting bass guitar opens the tune. It then gets a bit rockier and the lyrics become curiouser and curiouser.
Micko & the Mellotronics take time out to relax in the garden.
The Finger, starts with a groovy bass and drum pattern, not dissimilar to the Iggy Pop track Lust for Life. And there the similarity stops. It then cuts back to the main sonic texture established by the previously mentioned tracks. It seems to be a sad song about a character who is looking back to earlier days through rose tinted glasses. Obviously there’s some bitterness thrown in there, hence pointing the finger at anything mildly modern or contemporary.
Former single Noisy Neighbours has been favourably reviewed in Le Document before. I still love the opening riff, it has a jaggedy edge and it returns throughout the song. This is a good indie pop tune, a bit spacey in places but lots of good texture to keep you hooked.
This album will appeal to fans of Sleeper and Pulp and several other 90s legends who were inspired by bands from the 70s. When Elastica enjoyed their chart success in the 90s they were forced to give some of their old punk heroes a song writing credit. Wire sued them because Elastica's Line Up was too similar to their track I Am The Fly and The Stranglers sued them because Elastica's Waking Up was too similar to No More Heroes. When asked about Elastica, The Stranglers bass player (J.J. Burnel) remarked how odd it was that a contemporary band were making records that sounded like a band from 25 years ago. Burnel suggested that 25 years before The Stranglers the popular music of the day were Jazz singers such as George Melly. Mark Fisher (author of Ghosts of My Life) made similar observations a few years later ...
“When I first saw the video for the Arctic Monkeys’ 2005 single ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’, I genuinely believed that it was some lost artifact from circa 1980. Everything in the video – the lighting, the haircuts, the clothes – had been assembled to give the impression that this was a performance on BBC2’s ‘serious rock show’ The Old Grey Whistle Test.' 'Furthermore, there was no discordance between the look and the sound. At least to a casual listen, this could quite easily have been a post punk group from the early 1980s. Certainly, if one performs a version of the thought experiment I described above, it’s easy to imagine ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ being broadcast on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1980, and producing no sense of disorientation in the audience. Like me, they might have imagined that the references to ‘1984’ in the lyrics referred to the future."
The ace card that Micko & The Mellotronics have in their hand, which The Artic Monkeys didn't, is that there is a real magical bond between Micko Westmoreland and (ex Banshee) Jon Klein. The two guitarists bring out the best in each other. There's something special about the way they make each other up their game. As we said earlier every track on this album is well crafted and well produced. We feel that a lot of love has gone into the making of this record so, ½ dove – ½ pigeon deserves to be our album of the month. It will be very interesting to see where the band go from here.
Before you read an interview with lead singer/songwriter Micko why not listen to some of tunes below …
Harry asked some questions and Micko gave some answers:
Harry Pye: Has Lock Dock been an entirely negative experience for you or has some good come from it
Micko Westmoreland: I strive for a hermetic lifestyle so personally, it’s been ok. It’s been a twitchy and distracting time for most people, as well as exhausting for front line workers. A lot of things will get rearranged as a result of Corona, some bad but also many for good. The threat to the NHS after over 10 years of Tory rule looks to have been thwarted for now, that’s a positive & nature seems to be thriving.
Your new album features great artwork. Where did the idea of Half Dove/ Half Pidgeon come from?
I saw the Elvis Impigeonator by Twinkle Troughton at an Elvis themed art show at The A - Side B - Side Gallery, some years ago & fell in love. Pigeons are very intelligent birds & are used in many psychology experiments, they just have bad PR. There’s a very different cultural significance to that of the Dove. If one morning all the pigeons in Camden Town were replaced by Doves we’d all have a religious experience or something. The title 1/2 Dove - 1/2 Pigeon hints at identity on a certain level which was intentional, how people see themselves is of great importance to me.
Noisy Neighbours is a great song, how do tunes come to you – are you the sort of songwriter who keeps a tape recorder next to the bed in case you wake up with a brainwave?
Technology Is useful for a writer, it’s easy to find out definitions & get stuff down quick as it comes to you. So yes, I do write at unusual hours sometimes & in all manner of places. You think you’ll remember a turn of phrase but it’s best to grab it on arrival if you can, on anything that’s available.
Was the character singing his story in The Finger inspired by an encounter you had?
In part, the main inspiration was the expression on one guys face I used to see, sat by the window in the local pub as I got off the bus. I projected into his thoughts & opinions & developed a loose narrative from there. Also, when I used to go hitchhiking as a teenager, I could almost count the minutes & seconds before the driver would trot out a racist remark. The precurzor was always ‘I’m not racist but…’. That’s how I got the chorus line, ‘It’s not like I don’t care, I don’t give a shit’. At the same time I didn’t write the song to jibe or condemn, in the video we shot with the Chaos Engineers Ashley Jones/Sue Wright Uppington, the character is played brilliant by Paul Putner (Little Britain). You end up kind of liking the guy as he’s able to let go of some of his more unpleasant traits as you follow his journey through the song.
Psychedelic Shirt Is a great rocking number. Do you feel that since Jon joined the band your guitar playing has improved and would you agree the two of you have a rare chemistry that brings out the best in each other's playing?
Yes, our playing styles complement each other very well and I’m always looking to improve. We both seek to serve the song, so it’s not unusual to turn down the volume on a line or take something out. It’s critical that each element contributes towards the whole. After we had been working together, Jon said that he thought his playing had improved as a result of working on the project, I didn’t think that could be possible as he’s really such a uniquely brilliant player. What was the line ... ’He’s my Jeff Beck’. But let’s not forget the rhythm section too, Nick MacKay & Vicky Carroll are such great people to be around & also brimming with talent.
You Killed My Father has an intriguing lyric. Who are you singing about in this song?
Ou, that would be a dead give away. I think what’s important is that it’s a redemptive tale. The last line goes, ‘Dig in this trench of forgiveness, forgo warfare to remain sane’. Acceptance can be a very hard thing to learn, ultimately though I believe it’s the first step to progress. There’s some interior furniture from the past In all our lives which is immovable, it’s simply won’t budge, resignation to that can allow you to place energy in different, more promising places.
Are there any tracks that didn't quite make this album and did you consider recording any cover versions
There’s always a good few, sometimes you might write a nice line but can’t find a way to combine & bring it together as a whole. So it gets moved to the back burner, I tend to keep a few on the go at anyone time, the one that then takes off has precedence. I used one guitar line a few years ago which came from a track I wrote when I was 19, it’s good to recycle whilst making new.
What new bands/artists have you been listening to lately? Is there any contemporary you see as a kindred spirit?
Micko and his son Gene, at the Charlie Smith Gallery
Unfortunately I haven’t been to a gallery for a long time because of Corona. But I was lucky enough to see the recent show by Geraldine Swayne at Charlie Smith gallery. Music used to be very much orientated to the young, so it’s great when my friend Horace Panter out of the Specials scored a number one album. I feel Music has grown up a bit, not much but a bit. It’s clear that great stuff can come to you at any stage in life.
What next for M & The Ms? Is the dream to do a UK tour?
I went to art school and I’m very into the visual aspect of the band. We work with Ashley Jones a lot making videos and have developed a really good rapport. We are working for developing more video content to accompany the album as we speak. In relation to touring, that would be nice, but be careful for what you wish for eh?
What aspect of being in a band give you the most happiness or fulfilment?
I like other people enjoying what you do, direct feedback. When we started playing out we were completing with Sky sports & chicken & chips. Now it’s not unusual to see numerous people in the audience singing along & that’s satisfying because you know that you have made a direct connection & they get where you are coming from.
