Angela Valid - This Book's On Fire

Angela Valid, a band making restrained lofi garage rock with guitars, drums, electronics and violin, first met in Sheffield while
studying film. Working largely under improvised conditions, their first break came in 2004 when a recording of one of their
sessions found its way to Fat-Cat Records in Brighton - home of Animal Collective, Mice Parade etc. They offered some valuable
support and guidance and also added Angela Valid to their online Demo archive, widening their audience and increasing their
popularity. After a well received split 7" with 'Ashbourne's Strongest Man', and gaining confidence through great press and
airplay, Iain Chambers and Alex Jones (who collectively make up Angela Valid) set to work on their first EP, 'This Book's on
Fire'.
Recorded live in a church hall opposite Holloway Women's Prison, it offers four tracks bringing in various influences from all
sides of the experimental music spectrum.  The band mix a traditional guitar/drums set-up with raucous electronics in a way
that stays true and respectful to both the past and to pushing the boundaries of modern improv. Ambitiously for their first EP,
the band craft a complete and sophisticated debut that hints at everyone from early Tortoise (notably on the penultimate track,
'Ocean Ceiling') to the masters of noise themselves, Wolf Eyes.  On the opening track, from which the EP takes its name, the
band is joined by Pedro's James Rutledge for the release's defining moment. Sounding comparable to the Constellation label,
only raised on a diet of Free-Jazz instead of Post-Rock, it retains a sense of purpose and direction that is often lost in improved
music akin to Angela Valid's. You sense that they value texture with equal importance to rhythm and melody as the song
reaches half-way point ; the drums begin to fragment as waves of melodicas and electronics ebb and flow around a layer of
guitar feedback which finally brings the song to a close. Next up comes 'Terry's Incantation' with a sharper and more direct
slant on jazzy spontaneity.  Electronics take the lead here, with the drummer sharing space with broken drum-machines and
pounding, distorted synths. After just over six minutes the song fades away, leaving the listener with just a taste of a session
in which these boys thrived.
'This Book's on Fire' is an accomplished and fully-realized take on improvised music that borrows from a range of musical
sources whilst still creating something very much current and forward-thinking. With a collaboration with the Melodic label's
Pedro in the very near future, Angela Valid are definitely a band to watch out for.

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