Ed Schrader's Music Beat - Jazz Mind (Vinyl LP, CD)

I’m always open to a newie from Upset the Rhythm. Those cats never leave me feeling like I’ve wasted my time. This newest one we’ve got from them features minimal pop duo Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, where Ed, on vocals and floor tom, is joined by friend Devlin Rice on bass and vocals. The sounds which result are primitive and slightly unhinged, the Birthday Party reduced to their most skeletal, primal essence, with boldly delivered, chant-like vocals, and a surprising amount of structure and melody for something so bare-bones, often bringing to mind Tom Waits’s more rhythm-based songwriting.

There are a couple of appearances from famous friends Randy Randall and Matmos but the purity of the minimal concept is always at the fore. Randall’s shimmering one-note guitar interventions in ‘My Mind Is Broken By The Sound’ introduce a spooky new texture to excellent effect but I’m less convinced of his garage thrashing in ‘When I’m In A Car’ - a totally effective stomper in its own right but one which kind of interrupts the stripped back aesthetic of the rest of the album.

They prove much more effective at this kind of deranged speedball scuzz without any assistance on closer ‘Gas Station Attendant’. Matmos’s sprinklings of weirdness do little to obscure the purity of concept, simply adding a little textural variety without keeping Schrader from getting on with his thing. All in all this is a ballsy, unusual but totally accessible album of garagey experimental pop that’ll keep you guessing and charm the hell out of you. Really excellent.