Another Fine Mess

(Image courtesy of trixondrums)

Finding a new ally in Billy Childish's crew, not to mention another new band name, Wreckless Eric got back to basics; low-fidelity and high volume. At one extreme, on songs such as "Sophie", The Len Bright Combo's two 1986 albums (both are on this out-of-print CD) turn into a mass of buzzing, roaring and squealing - like a fleet of Harleys gunning their engines in a cramped slaughterhouse. In other spots Eric's heart is back on his sleeve, ready to be picked at in such finely-written, almost country-ish songs, as "Someone Must've Nailed us Together and "Shirt Without a Heart". Then running down the line between those extremes is the blazing punk track, "The Golden Hour of Harry Secombe". It's a smart, caustic mix of garage-punk energy and experimental noise-mongering, occasionally reminiscent of where Northwest bands like Mudhoney would later dare to trod.

If there's a track here that in twenty years, rom-com's and bands seeking novel covers will exhume it's the sing-along, "Someone Must've Nailed Us Together", which sounds like an older and wiser yet defiant take on the romanticism heard in "Whole Wide World".

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Download Len Bright Combo

Speaking of the man's ongoing pursuit of Wrecklessness, here's Eric indulging his troubadour side on Belgian TV.