Maggie8 - Charming Lady EP

My main man Mark Wright finally does the decent thing and unleashes this mad, eccentric 12” into a world that surely can't have been expecting such a thing. Maggie8 are that rarest of beasts, a band who have somehow found their own genre, cross pollinating British indie, Beirut style folk clatterings, Bollywood and Indian style raags. Despite looking not a day over 14, Mark is a veteran of several Leeds bands, spending a fair amount of time in the latter day Hood lineup, but the years he's put into this project pay off with an excellent proper debut for his band of merry campers.  The opener is an odd but life affirming interpretation of The Smiths 'This Charming Man'  - not quite a cover but in no way an original track either working its way randomly sort of around its general melody. Utilising the general guitar riff from the original it turns the tune into a Hindu sung gem with uplifting trumpets and clattering percussion. A parallel universe cult hit and lord knows what the Mozster himself would reckon.  'Dameroo' is a blast of evocative chanting veering off into the eeriest midsection. On the flip 'Four Whacks' is a stand out with pulsing bass and a melody which somehow reminds me of early James for a reason I can't quite grasp. 'Gharraah' is another excellent piece, opening with Niv Pisharoty's gorgeous vocals erupting into the most uplifting romp with frantically plucked banjo, strings and juggernaut drums to make a marvellous clattering tuneful mess. 'Khet' recalls the Cocteau Twins if they'd relocated to Delhi, wandering this way and that before rising up to a nagging trumpet melody and a huge slice of bombast.  So, sitting somewhere between Arcade Fire, Beirut, Pentangle, Animal Collective, The Smiths and all manner of Indian influences that I'm too dumb to know about this is a sterling work which should be purchased immediately.