“An Incident on the Edge of Town” is a long-time live favourite from the repertoire of the artist transitioning via reverse-metamorphosis from the beautiful butterfly of Dear Times Waste into spiny, poisonous, crepuscular caterpillar i.e. crazy. Four months on from the stirring first single “You’re A Stranger To Me Now” comes another festering puss-filled abscess of extraordinary dark experimental songcraft, drawn out by cranky sonic poultice.
If that sounds a bit nasty it’s only because this song is like a fetid reminder of a Raymond Carver short story of everyday paranoia on the margins of society. Lawn mowers and mannequins. The stuff of suburban nightmares…
“In the passenger seat, there’s a hanging head;
as though it’s attached to a taut and jerking thread.
There’s a shop en route that sells mannequins…
I will take one home
just to eat with it.”
As with everything in the long and interesting journey taken from there to here over several years by i.e. crazy maverick Claire Duncan/ Maggie Magee there’s a heart of very melodic pop to this. It’s there among a tangle of insect-like guitar clicking scratchy noises (Sean Kelly/ Seth Frightening once again) and clattering drums (GPOGP‘s Catherine Cumming) and bursts free with the buzzing earworm chorus.
It may be a House of Horrors but the door is open and the welcome mat is out. Come in and take tea with the mannequins and sit and listen to their voices in your head for a while.
Pop Lib 