Mordecia Smyth - The Mayor of Toytown is Dead

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 19 / 11 / 2017

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Mordecai Smyth had the honour of his last album, ‘Sticky Tape and Rust’, being the first release on the wonderful Mega Dodo label. It set the stage for many of the label’s subsequent releases, capturing not only the sound of the 1960's but the spirit as well. It recalled the English strain of psych, more toytown psych than acid-rock. Six years later Mr. Smyth follows up that debut with ‘The Mayor of Toytown is Dead’, a telling title perhaps. While Smyth is still glancing over his shoulder and displaying a fondness for those more innocent times it appears that he’s also progressed musically during the six years since his debut album and actually followed the path that music took during those years. So this collection of nine songs leans more to prog-rock and is less quirky than his previous work, let’s not go as far as to state that either Smyth nor his music has matured but it’s developed some. There’s one cover on ‘The Mayor of Toytown is Dead’ and that’s a version of ‘Golf Girl’ from ‘In the Land of Grey & Pink’, a Caravan album first released in 1971. Smyth has slowed the song down a little but there’s no radical reworking here, although the female vocals that grace the track and which are sung by Tabitha Smyth give this version more texture and are a welcome addition. Mention should also be made of Tabitha’s contributions on clarinet and saxophone on the album. But it’s not like this time around Smyth has deserted toy-town for Canterbury; the one instrumental on this album, ‘Stay with the Pulse’, recalls ‘Berlin’-era Bowie while also keeping one foot firmly planted in post-Barrett Pink Floyd. The album is topped and tailed by tracks featuring Dave Lambert, more representative of his days with The Fire than the Strawbs. The opening cut ‘Billywitch’ has a Middle-East flavour, while vocally and with its angular traits Andy Partridge’s XTC can’t fail to come to mind. Lambert’s solo at the end of the song is simply superb. The other track that features Lambert, ‘Dissent Into Chaos’, closes the album and again there are sections of the song that recall Gilmoor-era Floyd. Lambert once again excels with his lead guitar playing, and like most of the songs on this album, despite those moments when you find yourself frantically trying to remember which album Smyth picked up that particular sound from, for the most part it’s impossible to come up with a clear answer, because the man throws in enough inventiveness to make this music his own. ‘The River of Sleep’ is the longest track on the set, clocking in at seven minutes and given that space Smyth can develop his prog tendencies to the limit. For sure, it will have some reminiscing of King Crimson and Van Der Graff Generator, especially with the use of horns but ultimately it still sounds like the work of Mordecai Smyth rather than a copy of glories past. Catherine Earnshaw (one of the featured female vocalists on the album) takes the lead on ‘Far from the Crowd’ adding a dreamy, almost surreal aspect to another piece that once again displays that Smyth was perhaps consciously moving his music on from the more whimsical themes that informed his last album. Even when Smyth goes further back musically for inspiration as on ‘Heading Back West’ he’s headed for the late 1960's American take of psych; it’s more West Coast than Canterbury. “I want to head back west to see the friends of mine, who play my kind of music” sings Smyth, with the wonderful Crystal Jacqueline lending her vocals to this song it seems he got his wish (Jacqueline’s partner Icarus Peel also features on the album). The sunny, lazy vibes that were emitted from that track are dispensed with on the following song, ‘A Knife and a Key’, a darker proposition altogether, Smyth’s lysergic vocals at odds with his partner’s saxophone that creates an addictive Mid-Eastern feel again. It’s almost too many ideas crammed into a six-minute song but it works beautifully, another indication of how talented Mr. Smyth is. Deborah Pike takes the lead vocals on ‘Happy’, adding a little psych-folk to the mix; it’s a breezy diversion and so catchy that it will be ringing around in your head long after the album has finished proving that Smyth can still produce short, hooky pop songs. Apparently Smyth would have this sound labeled ‘regressive rock” and who are we to argue with such talent, but whatever labels we throw at this music one thing’s for sure - it’s creative and for all its fleeting nods to the past sounds contemporary and pure Mordecai Smyth; it may well have taken him six years to get here but let’s just be thankful that we still have such eccentrics making this journey. Available in a limited edition gatefold sleeve 180-gram vinyl edition as well as a standard CD and double CD with hardback book, this is an essential purchase for any psych/prog fan. A trip to the Mega Dodo site at http://www.mega-dodo.co.uk is highly recommended.

Track Listing:-

1 Billywitch
2 River Of Sleep
3 Far From The Crowd
4 Heading Back West
5 Golf Girl 05:17
6 A Knife And A Key
7 Happy
8 Stay With The Pulse
9 Dissent Into Chaos

Band Links:-

https://en-gb.facebook.com/stickytapeandrust/
http://www.mega-dodo.co.uk/products/mordecai-smyth
https://megadodo.bandcamp.com/album/the-mayor-of-toytown-is-dead

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