Album artwork by Alice Woodroffe
Montague Black, Meat on the Bone, 2014
1. Meat on the Bone
2. Country Girl
3. Lancelot
From the very outset to Meat on the Bone, Montague Black
presents itself as a highly capable outfit. The opening sequence of guitars,
bass and saxophones acts as a kind of fanfare for the rest of the EP and also
sets the benchmark for quality on this recording, wherein all the instruments
manage to retain an excellent level of clarity, as well as the lead vocals
themselves.
Although the term ‘skronk’ has been thrown around by
promoters in descriptions of the band – though not by the band itself – these
three songs demonstrate a remarkable level of control and conviction, asserting
the highly attuned abilities of Montague Black’s members, not to mention their
intuitive assembly on record (and on stage: see my review of their Power Lunches gig below).
The EP’s title track, ‘Meat on the Bone’ truly is a rallying
statement of intent, and is reminiscent of the opening of ‘I Can’t Stand Myself’
by James Chance and the Contortions. The song is structured by strong instrumental
passages that allow every instrument its moment of prescience, interspersed
with a trademark crooning vocal delivery. The track stops pretty abruptly
following a wonderful see-sawing instrumental part, and the cut-off feels a
little too sharp given the way that the rest of the music is allowed to unravel
effortlessly.
However, the eerie guitar tones of ‘Country Girl’ then creep
in before giving way to some truly dissonant guitar textures. Layers of
instruments slowly enter the mix in the form of drums and various forms of percussion,
which lend the introduction a sparse, vaguely tribal No Wave quality and
frame the vocal delivery. When the rest of the ensemble seamlessly enter the
song at about a minute in, it is a hugely satisfying moment. This is namely
because, with such a complex set-up of vocals, two guitars, bass, keyboard, two
saxophones, and various modes of percussion, it could be all too easy for
something to get lost in the recording. However, as clever as the band is at
avoiding it live, it is reassuring to hear it similarly transpire on record. The
keyboards are especially funky and dance in and out of the guitar and bass
parts, and the overture of saxophones succeed in adding extra muscle to the
meat on the bone.
‘Lancelot’ is probably the most straightforward song on the
EP, and seems to be framed more by the lyrics than the music, at least in
comparison to the other two tracks. The guitar freak-out at about two and a
half minutes in however, is a very welcome interlude, and is quickly followed
by a discordant saxophone shriek that cuts through the layers of sound temporarily
before surrendering to the rich, heavy bass line. When the vocals stutter and
shriek abstractly against the washes of sound that finish the song and the
record, the EP ends on nothing less than a brilliant final note and a fitting
accumulation of Montague Black’s marriage of raw dissonant tones and
controlled, highly skilled musicianship.
