Search - Vulgar Unicorn :: Sleep With Fishes

A hidden gem

waiman | Hong Kong | 03/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This little known band stem from the quiet South-West of England. 'Sleep With The Fishes' is their second album and an improvement on their rather noodlesome debut.The garish pink cover (with a picture of a goldfish in a beer glass) is a bit off-putting - as is the track listing on the rear featuring only 4 tracks of between 15 - 20 minutes. However, both are deceptive as this is not some mediocre rave outfit - as the cover would suggest - and each 'track' is, in reality, four entirely seperate tracks based around one of four vague 'themes'.And what incredible variety there is. Between washes of spacey Hawkwind style keyboards and 'Meddle'-era Floyd guitars there are sudden burst of funk, lounge jazz, melodic acoustics, oboes, clarinets, flutes and even a jaunty Michael Nyman inspired piece with a simple repeated melody that will remain hooked in your brain for days, if not forever!There is so much variety that if something doesn't take your fancy - and the occassional grungy guitar dirge is the least appealing thing here -then something more pleasing will pop up a minute or two later.Much of it is instrumental though the handful of songs are hardly of the traditional verse/chorus variety. The highlights are many: 'Supersmoke II' is a celebration of food indulgence built around around an instrumental track that has as many style changes as you could fit into one song. 'Curiouser and curiouser' is an elegant lounge jazz piece that sounds not unlike chic french band Air (and pre-dates them to boot). 'Too Many Secrets' features soaring guitar/keyboard sections that are unashamedly proggressive in the 70's sense of the word and a real delight.The whole thing is interwoven with naggingly familiar film dialogue (including 'Psycho') that works so well with the music that you often hardly notice it is there.Vulgar Unicorn have a real knack of sounding like a dozen other bands while simultaneously sounding quite like no one else. A little bit of careful editing could have produced a trimmer five star CD, but this is still a great listen warts and all."

Do not hesitate- BUY IT. That is, if you can.

Paul Watson | Ireland | 03/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why this band did'nt gain the recognition they so rightfully deserved is a crime. The first reviewer has pretty much summed up the album in one go, that is, apart from dissing the more progressive debut 'Under the Umbrella' which I enjoyed more overall. There is plenty of variety on this album featuring loads of samplings (Perhaps this is where the Porcupine Tree similarities came from), and at least here on Amazon, you will be able to sample each track for about 20-30 seconds. I have tried in vain to buy this album myself on EBAY, but the CD usually goes in excess of $50.00. I don't posess the original CD but actually downloaded the album through a chatroom from the Audio Galaxy website before it became a 'Pay for music' site. I was actually in a Porcupine Tree Chat Room and Vulgar Unicorn were mentioned because of the appeal. I am hoping to get it eventually for around $20.00. Anyway, you just have to check out the atmosphere of the instrumental 'Neo City Sleeper' (Lush Keyborads) which leads into my undoubted fave 'Dream of me'. This song is just so Heavenly - The most beautiful dreamy song I have ever ever heard, and I have listened to a few in my semi long life. Harp, flutes, more lush keyboards, soothing vocals, female backing vocals and top notch guitar. You will get a good idea of what to expect from the music sample.

The main core of Vulgar Unicorn consisted of Bruce Soord who now leads the soon to be recognised Pineapple Thief (They have just signed up to a big label after just having finished their long association with Cyclopd Records on mutual grounds). As for Neal Randall, I would'nt have a clue. For all we know, he may be part of another totally unheard of awesome band which we will never know of, or, as I would expect, he could probably be on the other side of the Mixing desk and producing or engineering, as he had that type of talent in abundance, as does Soord. I recommend any of the Vulgar Unicorn's 3 Official Original CDs (i.e. Under the Umbrella, Jet Set Radio and this one). Vulgar Unicorn also have 2 other recently released CDs which are worth looking into as well. They are Divadroid International AND Persona Non Grata, which consists mainly of early Side Projects, demo's etc. You can get these CDs and more from their Label, Cyclops Records, or search the web for 'GFT' and add Progressive Music. Good luck if you can find this CD at a respectable price."