Following my coverage of Dear Pariah's The Weeper Takes EP and Cormorant Tree Oh's Moonish, I received an email from Joel over at Trapped Animal Records asking whether I'd be interested in covering Sunday Driver UK's latest Silk and Filth for Clean Sheets. Having enjoyed both these aforementioned releases it was a no-brainer as to whether or not my reply would be in the affirmative, so, here I am!
Sunday Driver UK hail from London and formed back in 2001 post 'cool Britannia', a time mired by lad culture, terrible music and Chris Evans. The band's prior releases include 2008's In the City of Dreadful Night, 2012's The Mutiny and 2022's Sun God. In addition there was also 2014's Flo, a collaboration with composer Kuljit Bhamra that saw a non-English collection of songs that featured on BBC Radio 2 and 3. Combine this with nods to steampunk and you are in for a very interesting listening prospect indeed.
'Malice Scourge' an instrumental, infuses mellow traditional Indian sounds with hints of Jesus and Mary Chain style Drone. Unlike say the dismal appropriation of bands like Kula Shaker and the unremarkable Indie-Rock of Cornershop, this feels a lot more original and inspired. The perfect opener. 'Silk and Filth' initially starts off in a Psych orientated fashion that recalls say Jefferson Airplane from around the time of Surrealistic Pillow, especially the drum rolls of 'White Rabbit'. The track is then injected roughly halfway through with some very cool Zeppelin influences what with the infectious Funk laden riff as well as Chandy's captivating otherworldly Vocals that help the track to its divine conclusion. 'Devils' tones down the Indian influences in favour of Trip-Hop and nods to bands such as Portishead, particularly the Beth Gibbons inflected Vocals. The sound here is mournful and this is apt when viewing the accompanying video and the promotional notes that lament the gradual destruction of Antarctica. Despite the sombre tone, the track is nonetheless absolutely beautiful.
'Bank Job' is the longest track on the album at almost eight and a half minutes and a progressive, epic piece. There's an eccentric spirit which comes across as an actually tolerable version of Kate Bush and the extensive Art-Pop experimentation more interesting than the likes of 'Babooshka' and'Them Heavy People' have to offer. Outstanding. 'Panda Ballet' the shortest number at just over two minutes, is in essence an interlude piece, yet a very pleasant one with oriental classical flavourings while 'Les Amoureuses' adds a little Riot Grrrl attitude to proceedings. While its certainly the most conventionally sounding track on the album its by no means less rewarding. 'We Don't Belong', a fun, bouncy track, combines a Dub/Reggae type beat with some tasty Django Reinhardt Gypsy Jazz while 'Red Dragon' seemingly taps into the finest traditions of traditional English Folk music. Whereas that genre usually has a tendency to leave me distinctly unengaged, Sunday Driver manage to offer up an entirely fresh prospective on what the likes of Sandy Denny and co could have produced had they diversified their sound more. An extraordinary achievement. 'The Death of John Company' references the informal name given to the Dutch East India Company which at its peak controlled large parts of the Indian subcontinent and Hong Kong. Said anti-colonial sentiments are soundtracked by some exquisite Piano playing; you don't always need words to paint a picture, which is something this gem highlights.
Silk and Filth is a brilliantly effective amalgamation of both Indian and Western musical styles and one that effortlessly navigates past the generic WOMAD tag. Recommended.
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