We've got lo-fi, we've even got no-fi, but then we've also got Unholy UFO! where it seems that zero consideration for fidelity of any kind is given. I'd feel a bit cruel saying this (despite the fact that it's actually kind of a compliment) were it not for the fact that Robert Craven himself says he has "no mercy when it comes to fidelity or instrumentation". So that does mean that 'Long Lived The Patriarchy' sounds quite like how demos used to sound before people had easy access to better recording methods. Dolly Parton once said "it costs a lot of money to look this cheap", and similarly, it took Unholy UFO! six months to record something that seems so rough and (un)ready.
All of this may give the impression that this album is a shambles, but that's not the case. Yes, it is falling apart at the seams, the drumming is often out of time, mixing appears to be an alien concept and the arrangements are... not really arranged, but the focus on melody and wordplay does pay off. Among the ramshackle likes of 'Now You Enter' (which you'll probably need to turn up to hear) and 'Polygon Telepathy' (which can barely be considered a song) are some more coherent moments. That's not to say there's no beauty or worth to the more ragged tunes though, and anyone who's a fan of Syd Barrett's solo work (particularly the outtakes) or early Gorky's Zygotic Mynci will find charm amongst the rubble.
'The Woman In The Other Room' actually feels quite poignant; 'Cosmic Visions' nearly forms itself into a psychedelic fuzz-rock tune; 'Men Upstairs' is an lovable clatter; 'Everyday' has some great lyrics ("everyday I drive in the left lane of life...") and verges on being a fully-fledged, regular DIY indie song before gradually disintegrating. There are plenty of times that 'Long Lived The Patriarchy' shines despite its unorthodox craftsmanship. The organ and piercing guitar on 'Secret' for example, or the way 'Back To The Academy' twists the college-rock blueprint, and the wistful and delicate 'Disatisfied' as a whole. This is a record that will divide opinion, there's no way it could not, but as the saying goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure". A fitting description for this wonderful mess.
Unholy UFO!'s website
Buy: 'Long Lived The Patriarchy'.
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