Tarwater - Spider Smile [Morr - 2007]Spider Smile finds this German electronic experimental duo bending their sound into more pop like angles, also adding in more organic and acoustic elements like mouth organ, Obe and banjo. All to make an album that on the surface is more approachable and tuneful, but still having an avant ear for sound use and repeated plays unveil more quirky and odd edges to the songs. I guess their sound borrows from new wave pop, folk / country twang and 80’s electro quirky pop throb and all manner of other genre nods. The album has quite a playful feel both in its melodic and sound elements, full a tinkling child like elements and toy like bangs and whizzes. But also lyrically and musically it hovers in feeling of bitter sweetness and relesonship break downs, topped off with some fine surreal and bizarre lyrical imagery. One of the most tuneful ‘cant get out of your head’ tracks appears early on in the albums life in the form of The world of things to touch, with it’s bouncing toyland bass line, synth pump 80’s like pop sensibilities and Ronald Lippok’s tuneful everyman vocal. Though most of the tracks have vocal complement there’s a few successful instrumental tracks like witch park,with it’s waling mouth organ elements, circus like drum bounces, mixed in with layered junkyard come ethnic percussions intercourse A rewarding and inventive album that offers up much more beyond it’s tuneful surface, that I can see of been of interested beyond normal fans of the Morr label brand off the beaten path pop music.    Roger Batty
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