Bath

Maudlin Of The Well were largely ignored at the time, never getting a proper record deal during their lifetime. It's only since their rebirth as Kayo Dot that they've got any interest, both Bath and its companion album Leaving Your Body Map (the two are meant to be counted as two halves of one double album) getting the reissue treatment (which are out of print, unfortunately). Despite not being quite as good as Kayo Dot's debut, the two are very close to being masterpieces in their own right. If Kayo Dot shows Toby Driver's ability to write epic compositions, then Maudlin Of The Well shows his ability to write, well, songs. Not that this is simple verse-chorus-verse stuff, mind, every song is still complex, demanding fare. Heaven And Weak starts off mellow, laden with unusual instrumentation and female vocals, before erupting into some vicious tech-thrash. Bath is one of the most diverse metal records ever, ranging from brutal, brutal death metal (They Aren't All Beautiful), post-rock (The Blue Ghost/Shedding Qlipthoth) and even a heart-wrenching acoustic ballad (Geography). There's a youthful zest and playfulness to the music that's relatively absent from Kayo Dot. The bouncy riff midway through Heaven And Weak recalls Mr Bungle, and there's even a track where percussion is provided through splashing water (Interlude 2, in case you were wondering). Even after months of owning this record, I'm still noticing new things every time. Each song is so twisty and turny that I'm always picking up a new riff or section that I never noticed before. Birth Pains Of Astral Projection is still mostly an impenetrable void for me, save for the light, upbeat ending. But I like how there's still so much more for me to get out of this album, how it's still fresh to me after so many listens. But yet, there's still enough great moments here to draw you back in every time to discover more. Like the apocalyptic riff that gets They Aren't All Beautiful into gear, to the toweringly gothic bit in The Ferryman where the organ and eerie warbling comes back in, to pretty much the whole of Geography (I love that song). I must make special note of Driver's vocal performance, as he's a genuinely underrated singer. He can go from a terrifying roar to gentle clean vocals in the space of a single song (and usually does). He's admittedly not a technically talented vocalist, but he has enough emotion and an ear for strong melodies to really make the record a vocally strong one. Female vocalist Maria-Stella Fountoulakis however is a technically talented singer, and her operatic vocals are used sparingly, but to devastating effect. The transition between the two singers on Girl With A Watering Can is a particular standout. It's not entirely perfect, obviously. The production is hideous, due to the band's lowly status at the time, and intro track The Blue Ghost/ Shedding Qlipthoth goes on a bit too long, but as Geography plays the first half out, we, the listeners, are immediately left wanting more. So it's a good thing that this is just the first half, isn't it? To be continued...