Awkward hipshaker of the year so far, maybe. The second track to be lifted from Acoustic Ladyland's Skinny Grin is an excitable, quirky stop-start thing. Seb Rochford's drums lock with Tom Herbert's grubby bass in short hobnail runs, while Pete Wareham's fruity sax adds an upfront splurge of colour.
Three minutes of determinedly white funk strutting makes Cuts and Lies something of an old school indie/jazz crossover noise, a feeling accentuated by the female vocal - a finishing touch that’s not detrimental, but neither entirely convincing, and invites loose comparisons with the early tootings of the late lamented Red Snapper. Acoustic Ladyland don't wear their 'rock band' tag any more comfortably than their alter-ego Polar Bear play straight ahead jazz. It's a little more mixed up than that, and all the better for it.
On the single, a remix and a dub courtesy of Uncle Buck, and a Kissy Sell Out remix drag the playing time out to 18 minutes, progressively straying further from the source, and from listenability. Forget that and make your strange gyrations to the first three minutes.
share: 
