This new reissue appears on Vienna based Editions Mego- who have always attempted to put a fairly varied selection of more experimental sounds, going from classy reissues like this, onto lost oddities, and new works. The release comes in the form of a double gatefold taking in grey card and orange ink, the front cover features the album's original lead drawing of a pupil-less woman with what looks like a hatching large insect in her mouth.  The inner gatefold takes in a wonderfully busy selection ethic looking figures, large insects and tribal-like shapes. Each of the records come in their own glossy & fairly thick slip sleeve- these feature on one side the track's lyrics, and on its reverse pictures of the two-piece project from the original release of the album. The first 300 copies coming with an extra seven-inch vinyl- so it's well worth picking this up sooner, than later.

The release is laid out thus- the albums original sixteen tracks are spread over sides A & B, then sides C & D are taken up by sixteen tracks from Songs From The Surgery- this is a twenty-one track collection of works from the same period as the album, and it originally appeared on Klanggalerie 2013 double CD release of the bands debut. The seven inch that comes with the first 300 copies, and the digital download of the release takes in sides E & F- and here we find the remaining five tracks from Songs From The Surgery

So let first discuss the first two sides of the set, and the original album. The tracks here are mainly relatively short and bizarre sonic adventures- that dip in & out of formal song format. They bring together buoyant- yet-angular nursery rhyme like melodies, with a selection of weird-to- often warbling vocals. Added to these are spinning backward tape reels/ voices, tenuous and mostly de-tuned instrumental textures, with a host of general lo-fi sonic invention. The whole point/ focus of the band's early sonic identity was to try and mimic the sound of synthesizer-with only using acoustic instrumental & sound. So, as a result, many of the tracks on Songs for Swinging Larvae still maintain a feeling of timeless oddness, due to the use of lo-fi/wonky instrumentation and general quirky home studio invention.

The album opens up “Lime Jelly Grass” and you can hear the influence of  The Residents, as we find a mixture of wiry ‘n’ wonky marching toy band blending of crude-yet- decidedly bouncing de-tuned guitar tones, toy horn work, and marching drums. As we move into the album we get tracks like “Is Guava A Donut”, were find more distinctively English brand on sonic oddness- with this particular track coming off like a mixture of off-color This Heat, Monty Python, and a demented & rapid one-man band trying to a play a musical hall tune.  “B.M.P” finds a building, Chiming, bright string loop- over this, we get a muffled- yet joyous male chanting vocal- the whole thing almost has a pulsing techno feel to it, which is, of course, decades before such genre existed. We have the hovering high male sing-song vocals, jerking blends of vibes & weird percussion interlocking that is "A Sob Story"- and at the end of this track we get one of the albums truly deranged moments as we find chatting goblin voices mixed with heavy & uneven drops of vibe tone, and violin saw. As we move towards the latter part of the album we dip into minimalist modern classic water ala Reich/ Glass, with the track “Hats Off Gentlemen” - as we find a blending of shifting & intermingling layers of looped piano repetition. The album has a runtime of just under forty minutes, but Renaldo and the Loaf manage to fill into the brim with both rewarding twist ‘n’ turns, quirky sonic invention, and a decidedly playful & surreal air- which very much nod towards the more daring & distinctive sound they would mine of the next few albums. Sure like any debut album Songs for Swinging Larvae wears its influences clearly- but it’s the downright mad invention & bizarre lo-fi charm of the whole album that truly makes it shine on its own.

So moving onto sides C and D, and we find the sixteen tracks from Songs From The Surgery. And these on paper are a collection of alternative versions of album tracks, as well as a host of unreleased tracks. The way this collection has been sequenced, one finds it stands as an album in its own right- the alternative versions are largely different enough to stand on their oddness, and the unreleased tracks sever up their own strange & bizarre sonic fruits- and these often highlight a fairly different darker 'n' grimly stretched take on the bands sound. Take “Moths On Sloths Version 1” with its twang & off key cascading guitar tones, backward tones & creepy whispered vocals. Or “The Hydrophile”, with its mixture of mournfully slurred horn work, slow percussive hits, and general sonic unease- sounds like a melted and unwell noir movie soundtrack.

The bonus 7 inch takes in "LD-1" through to "LD-5", this five-track series was spaced out over the original release of Songs From The Surgery. And these are mostly fairly short & weird blend of tinking avant guitar textures, backward elements, and sudden rising & falling looped instrumental churn- all topped with occasion chanted vocals.

All told this is a very classy vinyl reissue of this early & embryonic slice of oddness from Renaldo And The Loaf- I believe more vinyl reissues are coming from the quirky sonic duo.