Jowe Head - Pincer Movement Album

Swell Maps were more of a musical collective than a group with each member bringing their own influences and inventiveness to a catalogue that goes beyond any definition of eclectic. Nikki Sudden was a rock n roller, Epic Soundtracks was more melodic yet experimental. So what did Jowe Head bring to the mix? By looking at the ex-Maps solo work it's possible to see how all the parts did(n't) fit together.

On his first solo album Jowe reminds us of his 'Map days by opening with a new version of Cakeshop Girl. This time tuned cider bottles and synthesiser replace the organ of the original with the vocals less dour and deadpan (although still pleading for a tryst with the eponymous heroine) and a much clearer mix making it popier.

And of course it gets weirder and harder to describe.Swissair is pure electropop and Wimoweh (also released by Tight Fit in 1982) becomes a bunch of drunken choirboys singing in an alley behind a pub. February sounds like Still I'm Sad by the Yardbirds if it had been produced by Phil Spector. Tracks feature samples of unknown origin and instruments such as an electric heater and a treated floor. Joining Jowe on this strange voyage are former Maps Phones Sportsman and Epic Soundtracks giving a connection to the past allowing the freedom to move forward.

People have said Swell Maps were more than just a bunch of teenagers using the studio as a playground but that is exactly what they were. What they didn't have was an awareness of musical boundaries giving them the freedom to go any where and, on listening to Pincer Movement it's obvious that Jowe contributed a lot of this.

Pincer Movement styles include ambiance, cabaret and a strong dash of avantgarde. But this is tempered with a very British sense of humour which dispels any taint of pretention. This is way if you listen to your ipod on shuffle and a Pincer Movement track appears you'll always smile.

File under Pop, sub-category: Odd.