Part The Second

Maudlin Of The Well were one of metal's most notable cult acts, collapsing after just three albums released through a tiny record label. Kayo Dot's success (well, as successful as you can hope to be playing that sort of thing) seems to have built up an interest in Maudlin Of The Well, and with the cold-water shock of Blue Lambency Downward being the most un-MOTW thing mainman Toby Driver has put his name to yet (bar his solo album), perhaps the time was right for them to make a return. Part The Second consists of three songs written in the brief period of time after the release of Leaving Your Body Map before the band turned into Kayo Dot and two brand new compositions. What's most notable about Part The Second is that it's completely fan-funded, meaning the band have released it for absolutely free (via www.maudlinofthewell.net). And when the albums one of 2009's strongest releases so far, you really have no excuse not to download this. As you'd expect, Part The Second is something of a stylistic bridge between Leaving Your Body Map and Choirs Of The Eye. Kayo Dot violinist Mia Matsumiya has joined the band for this recording, and her contributions add a dash of colour to the band (her string contributions to the opening of Another Excerpt: Keep Light Near You, Even When Dying are outstanding). As you'd expect from a record funded from donations, there are no fancy studios involved in the making of Part The Second, the demo-y, overly digital sound of good old Maudlin Of The Well. Still, at least the band appear to have invested in a real piano this time. We kick things off with the ridiculously-titled (take a deep breath) Excerpt From 6,000,000,000,000 Miles Before The First, Or, Revisitation Of The Blue Ghost. It's a sequel of sorts to Bath intro The Blue Ghost/Shedding Qlipthoth, although the similarities are relatively minor, and it's a vocal piece rather than an instrumental. It becomes clear from the off that this is the most obtuse thing Maudlin Of The Well have ever made. They've ditched the song craft of Bath for meandering journeys through the mind of Toby Driver, where the band do Toby Driver-y things, weird chords and all, like Blue Lambency Downward with more rock-based instrumentation. Although Toby Driver's wailing cock-rock guitar solos are back (his soloing has always been unusual for avant-garde music, in that it sticks very closely to traditional rock guitar heroics), he's still not returned to metal, so those who found Blue Lambency Downward entirely too tame will be disappointed, I'm afraid. It would have been nice to have had some of the earthshaking crescendos utilized so well in Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, mind. For something that's essentially a Frankenstein's monster of old and new, the second part of this album, the new material, follows on remarkably well. And where as the older tracks feel slightly vague and underworked (some of the ideas on here are apparently pre-Bath, and revisiting decade-old ideas seems to have taken the edge off them), without denying their high quality, the new material is laser-focused. Clover Island Garland is an insane masterwork, mixing what appears to be jazz-fusion into the Maudlin Of The Well stew, while (take another deep breath) Laboratories Of The Invisible World is one of the best things Toby Driver's written, marking the return of his oddly-chorded riffage he did so well. Mr Driver? A whole album of this sort of thing, please. Part The Second isn't quite the towering work of genius we all expected, but then the band never really meant it to be. It's clear that Part The Second is a few old friends propping each other up through one last round, and you can take or leave the results. It's still a highly enjoyable return from a once legendary band, and anything from Toby Driver is always welcome in these quarters. A new Kayo Dot is scheduled to drop at the end of the year, with Mia Matsumiya taking the reins for the first time ever (she's handling guitar and violin duties, while Driver is reduced to bass). Best of luck to her, and let's see if she can top Mr Driver's contribution to the year's releases.