Nurse With Wound — Salt Marie Celeste

NWW's Steve Stapleton pronounces "Ship's a going down" and mixer's haunting drone scapes with odd (and funny) sound effects. What we have here is one long droning, sinister and haunting track. Add to this various creaks and other noises.

It all paints a rather barren wind swept picture in one's head- bodies laying about an abandoned ship, crabs crawling out of their mouths. A severed limb drifting by in the sea. Well you get the idea; it's very satisfying if you are in the right mood. But the most bizarre and funny thing is one of the sounds he uses. It's like someone on a bicycle, riding back and forth. I keep getting this picture in my head of a small man with massive sideburns and Victorian dress riding a miniature bike. Strange I know, but there it is.

I find it interesting that all the other reviews I've read of this don't mention the humour aspect. But I think this makes it all the more haunting, disturbing and surreal. Maybe a comparison (if one can be made) is The Residents classic: Eskimo, with its mix of odd (chilling) atmosphere, and a sneering almost Zappa type humour. Also the melody has an Eskimo type quality to it. The thought is always in your mind, while playing this, is this serious or not. One can almost see Mr Stapleton chuckling to himself at all the po-faced arty types reviews of this album. Or maybe not. You decide!