Index For Working Musik is a new venture out of London featuring Max Oscarnold (Proper Ornaments/TOY), Nathalie Bruno (DRIFT.) Bobby Voltaire (Proper Ornaments), Joe Loftus (TOY), and Edgar Smith (J.C Flowers.)
Two things had me excited for this new project when it was announced. Firstly, it was the opportunity to have Max Oscarnold’s compositions at the forefront, after finding his captivating lyrics and driving psych grooves the highlight of the last two Proper Ornaments albums. Secondly, it was the fact he was working with Nathalie Bruno, who’s DRIFT. project provided one of the electronic highlights of my 2020. It’s those two contrasting elements that are the push-pull driving dynamic at the heart of this album.
The pre-album singles, as good as they undoubtedly are, don’t really do justice to how diverse and deep this record is. This is serious music for serious times, be it the broken harmonies that rise up against the fractured drums of closer Habanita, or the unsettling double bass scrapes that flow beneath Athletes Of Exile. The increasingly futile “set me free” chants of psych-blues jam Ambiguous Fauna provide yet another highlight, and if one song here shows how hard this band can swing live, it’s this one.
Bruno’s uncompromising bass is a constant highlight, reaching its peak on the dirty electro instrumental Isis Beatles. This track perhaps best captures the overall mood of this album. Psychedelic grooves rendered slate grey by the imposing chaos that surrounds us all, closing in as we fight, fly or freeze.
Repeated plays bear the biggest rewards with this LP, I find myself finding new things to love with each listen. What I first considered an enjoyable side project is now, in my mind at least, elevated to something much higher, much deeper.
Out now via Tough Love Records, another essential release from one of the very best labels out there doing it.
https://indexforworkingmusik.bandcamp.com/album/dragging-the-needlework-for-the-kids-at-uphole
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