For the select few whose musical upbringing was shaped by the obtuse end of the C86 scene, the three track 7” single holds a special place in the imagination. It was associated in particular with bIG fLAME who romanticised it as the ideal format for communication: uneven, angular and demanding concision and urgency. The format is being revived by Glasgow underground five-piece, Normal Service, who count amongst their number current or former members of such excellently inventive acts as Lung Leg, The Keatons and Ganger. They share the desire to cram as many ideas into as small a slot as possible.
That said, Side A features a song of a length that would have been dismissed in 1986 as prog-like indulgence, the four-minute plus epic, ‘Songs For Swinging Lovers’. Despite being a title associated with the likes of Nina Simone and Julie Driscoll, this is an original composition and a bold one at that. A beguiling flute grabs the attention, guitar wanderings that could be an intersection of Television and Kleenex, male and female vocals pondering the hangman’s noose and creating a meeting point of sea shanty and Dog Faced Hermans. With its cornucopia of tempo shifts, it is a thrilling jolt to the system where it is impossible to predict what will happen next.
Flip over to Side B for two shorter compositions. The sub-two-minute ‘Cut’ is the poppiest offering on display as Kev Burrows muses on “Alcohol and adrenaline / make it like I can’t feel anything” before calling for some TCP. The whole shebang is wrapped up with the instrumental ‘Raljex’, all Captain Beefheart gone Country and Western with flashes of post-rock for good measure.
Whilst discussing Normal Service, it would be remiss not to mention that their guitarist is a photographer whose images leap from the printed page and tingle with clarity. His book, The Inner Circle: Graham Gavin’s Glasgow in the 90s primarily focuses on the city’s underground music scene but it is not necessary to be familiar with the groups photographed to enjoy the vivid slices of life presented.
Normal Service: Songs For Swinging Lovers EP – Out Now (Raljex Records)
Available on Bandcamp – Song For Swinging Lovers EP | normal service
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
