Play 90 second soundbite of 'Photograph' @ 'CD quality'
Possibly a little more 'twee' than I'd expected but 'Dreams Of Educated Fleas' retains just enough of the dark side of Theory's style to make it different from the Captain's contemporaries. With some impressive writing, slick playing and great vocals this well produced demo should open a few doorways for them. This seven track work has quite a different overall feel to it though; slightly retro in many parts, Beatlesque harmonies, a flavour of early 70's American West Coast experimentation, catchy sing-along lyrics sounding like McCartney mixed with early Jeff Lynne - all culminating in a best of Radio Head without the bizarre, showy, out-of-yer-face kinda stuff. It's very listenable and generally on the softer side of the rock genre. A real mixture of tempos and decibels make this more interesting than many latter day releases.
Bristoll seems to have a knack of coming up with 'strange' song titles - the opener, 'Algebra, Take Me Dancing' being typical. Although very Thom Yorke, I like this track and it does lead the listener nicely into an overall groove for the following six works. 'Photograph' straight away took me back to Country Joe And The Fish and early Doors with its keyboard intro. Then a few bars in it becomes very 2003. The wonderfully titled 'Making Apple Juice From Oranges' opens gently and generally remains that way with the soft vocal beautifully punctuated by simple percussion. Although the feel lifts for the chorus' and some heavyish guitar passages loop in and out, the main vocal and harmonies hold things gently down. 'Dark Clouds' takes the feel down further; it's a classy, laid back little number that features some excellent vocal harmonies.
Over half way through and I'm still excited. 'Born Again Brand New Man' is probably the most commercial work included here. Synth work straight from the glam-rock days worked into the nice vocals with a foot-tapping result - not my favourite this!! However, 'Things You Threw Away' brought me back with its flowing guitar work behind the lyrics. Very McCartney (Ram) if you know what I mean. Ending with 'Excuses', the demo rounds off nicely with a clever, melodic piece, if a little short.
Knowing what Simon Bristoll is capable of, I can't help but feel that Captain Wilberforce will continue to make inroads into the big time. They're more than capable as this demo clearly demonstrates and I believe that the Captain is still being handled by the Theory's management which has got to be a good thing. Good luck Captain Wilberforce.
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