Short Reviews [Paradise 9 - 2015 - "Live at The Amersham Arms SheepDog Bash"]

Recorded towards the end of 2014 at The Amersham Arms SheepDog Bash2, the band has already changed since the album released the previous year with the core trio of Gregg McKella (vocals, guitar, glissando guitar, clarinet and space FX's), Neil Matthars (bass) and Tyrone Thomas (lead guitar, backing vocals) now joined by Jonas Golland (Tiger Lillies/I am Meat) on drums and backing vocals. The underground scene lives and breathes with gigs like these, and I certainly see way more bands perform in pubs than I have ever seen in arenas. I know the first time I ever saw Neil play was at The Red Lion in Brentford when he was in the Casuals, about 30 years ago! At the time of recording, they may have had a new drummer in the ranks, but the band were flying high after the success of ‘Take Me To The Future’ which had been released the previous year, and it is no surprise that the majority of tracks in this 7-song set are taken from that album. This is space rock with huge nods towards punk and indie, very much of the underground, with Nik Turner and Inner City Unit some of the musical references. Even though there are two guitars they are never overtly heavy and there is a huge amount of space within the layers, with Neil often providing the melodic structure with the others playing around the edges. It is not hard-hitting music but instead is something that often is thoughtful and basic with the punk element strongly shining through. Gregg has been pushing his music and this band for well over 30 years with no sign whatsoever of stopping, and this is a great way to discover the band. This is available for just GBP 4 on Bandcamp so why not pop over and give them a listen?