If you’re looking for a quick ‘n’ cheap hit of scrappy lo-fi fuzz pop here’s a ten track cassette that arrived for Bandcamp Friday – best move fast if you want one. On ‘Til You Fall Down Orchard push shoestring necessity beyond an aesthetic to some sort of article of faith. The small amount of information accompanying the release declares that it was recorded in as few takes as possible to avoid perfectionism. There’s also a list of old gear they used and the slightly confusing assertion that amplifiers were not. Wilful amateurism in pursuit of a peculiar notion of purity. Which you might consider a weird flex were that phrase and the universe this music exists in not so utterly alien to one another.
If lo-fi and ragged are a problem then you may need to move along. Even so, it’s not that lo-fi. Or, at least, it avoids the musical uncertainty and ‘mistakes are charming’ feel you might expect from such positioning. It no doubt helps that they’ve been at this caper together for a good while. Orchard are a two piece, Joel and Rosie, who came about when they had the good sense to flee London leaving behind a string of other bands. A couple of the tunes here are held over from previous incarnations, ‘Defixiones’ is one of the last Night Pain songs and ‘Weird Dance V’ is from Baaneex. They also played together in Magic Mist, Giant Burger and Melge, so when they say they’re working fast to avoid perfectionism you know they’ve got a pretty clear idea of what they’re aiming for.
The results certainly have their charms, and some great titles. The opening trio of songs give us fuzzed out punk ‘Universal Spider Reaction’, rough edged but swaying indie pop, ‘Carry’ and a tender underground love song in ‘Song For Rosie’. They follow these with a couple of instrumentals, the magnificently named ‘Hot Sea Waffle’ is an uptempo rocker while ‘4000 Years Old’ is all chiming strums and steadily building sweetness. It doesn’t quite resolve itself so much as coming to a natural stop but as with the other instrumental tunes here it slyly suggests a kind of naive take on post rock. A twist I don’t recall hearing before but is well worth exploration I think. It’s an idea which echoes softly in the title of ‘Burning People To Keep Castles Warm’ a tune with, I think, a clear enough message.
For ‘Weird Dance V’ they expand to a four piece with splendid results, old comrade Owain Paciuszko bringing some great keyboards to the party. The closing ‘Yellow Grass’ is another reflective instrumental to play us out. As a whole ‘Til You Fall Down is a little uneven but feels appropriately like a collection of early 7″ singles on an 80’s indie label. There’s a strong sense of the songs as early sketches. Which is what it is after all, an attempt to capture them before they get too overworked or polished.
