Soft Mach

I thought that the miracle of Zopp – a contemporary band emulating and developing the Canterbury sound – was a one-off. But now Tom Penaguin emerges with his eponymous debut album, released April 5. Tom is a French guitarist and organist, having paid his dues with Orgöne and Djiin, psych-prog bands with interesting and cool albums. Tom’s record is made up of five tracks, of which the first one is more of a brief sound collage a la “The Stubbs Effect” or the fade out of “Moon in June”; longer tracks are mixed with shorter ones, all instrumental. The recording is made with a very nice analog feel – the instruments sound great, with a very authentic Canterbury touch: organs and basses are intermittently fuzzed, Rhodes pianos tinkle, guitars display either a grainy sound or one more jazzy, and the drum kit is archaically trebly. According to the liner notes, “Aborted Long Piece No 2” is just that – it is the remains of a hilarious but glorious-sounding homage to Egg; truly wonderful with odd meters and interesting chord progressions. The two actually longer pieces – “Housefly Leg” and “Arrival of the Great Hedgehog” – showcase intriguing melodies and chord progressions that ebb and flow, start and stop, intercalated with longish guitar solos that arrive, not noodle. Tom impressively handles all the instruments himself – a true multimusician. To some extent, I feel one should avoid too much referencing to influences but since this is a Canterbury Reddit I refrain… overall, the magus here is Dave Stewart – a lot of the sound and the composing are reminiscent of Egg, less Hatfield, but more National Health; particularly the keyboard sounds. Tom’s guitar-playing feels like a mix of Phil Miller’s breezy, jazzy sounds with a tint of the other Phil’s (Manzanera) grainier sound. Zappa’s playing and composing circa “Hot Rats” is another reference point. All in all, a wonderful record in its own right with a firm foothold in a musical era that is increasingly adored.

https://preview.redd.it/c9gma01cqmsc1.jpg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0472852292494c5992d6908586af1f0bc24cf170

Bandcamp-link for listening/buying: https://amarxe.bandcamp.com/album/tom-penaguin

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