Renaldo and the Loaf — Song Of The Lungfish
The vinyl version of the EP appeared in November of last year- coming in an edition of 200 copies- 100 in black & 100 in transplant purple. It comes with a double-sided color inlay- these feature on one side a bright collage bringing together fish, butterflies with a backdrop of flowing larva, on the other side we the lyrics for one of the tracks & a hand number. The CD version of the release appeared early March of this year- this came in an edition of 200 copies, and is identical to the vinyl release- but shrunk down.
The idea for Song Of The Lungfish came about after the pair run a competition connected to their last full length 2016’s Gurdy Hurding- the winner (Eggoddleo Jones) of the competition got the write lyrics for a song, and these are used on the first track here, as well been used as a general influence for the EP's concept.
In total, the release runs for spot on fifteen minutes- with the four tracks running between two & five minutes apiece. Opening up proceedings we have the title track- this begins with the moody sound of the sea washing in & out, slow droning horn-based ambient, strange wailing chants & percussive hits- at around the minute & a half minute, a voice says “Let's grow some legs & dance”- and we drop into the brightest/ most buoyant music the pair have every done. It’s a mix of jaunting/ sped-up ethnic string darts, wavering 8-bit electro keys, horn beeps – topped with a blend of high pitched sing-song vocalizing & backward chorus. Towards the end of the track, we get some great moodily wailing string feedback drifts which rather brought to mind Popol Vuh. Next up we have “Sacred Shore”- this is the shortest track here at just over the two-minute mark, and it finds a blend of rapidly jigging stringed instrumentation, amassed backwards vocals, and sways of back & forwards water wash.
If we flip over the vinyl (or stay on the same side if you're playing the CD) we get “Lungfish Hornpipe”- here we find this sort of crazed cajun vibe with a jigging blend of ethic string & eight-bit electronics, & these are topped off with Scottish like chanting. In its last-minute, we move into a counterbalance of dark ambient & quirky vocal fade. Last off we have “Song Of The Lungfish Dreaming” and here we get a wonderful bizarre crossbreed between strutting reggae, bizarre throat singing, swinging & jaunting ethnic pop. Towards the latter part of the track, we get some wonderful interplay between various layers of ethnic stringed instruments- coming off like a wonderfully meeting between Popol Vuh & Brian Eno.
Song Of The Lungfish is a rather wonderful slice of oddness & wonderment from Renaldo and the Loaf- with the pair masterful blending together both the bright and the murky. The release shows the pairs wonderfully ability to blend together different genre elements in such an effortless & creative manner- my only criticizing it’s all over too quick…really looking forward to what they do next, and this is most certainly a highlight of late last year/ early this year what ever the genre…head over to Psychofon Records here to pick up either a copy of the CD or Vinyl, or both!