This is on the same label that righteously committed the almost-lost 3-Toed Sloth recordings to vinyl, amongst numerous other services to antipodean archival. This time Unwucht has spawned yet another new platter from Mad Nanna. Seriously, every time I check the forecast there seems to be a new MN record floating in the ether, waiting to be absorbed. With this level of productivity, one could assume that the quality of their output would suffer. Thankfully, this is infinitely far from the truth. Mad Nanna are an inherently difficult group to ‘get’ (whatever that means) and therefore interest me more than just about anything else involving guitar and/or drums on this continent or elsewhere at the moment.

The a-side, ‘I’m Not Coming Here’, was recorded at out-of-the-way gallery space KOF early in ‘11. It’s a disjointed, beautiful mess that wavers in and out of time and instrumentation. Occasionally it devolves into totally shredded edges, but is sustained throughout by Mickey’s relaxed strummin’. With Mad Nan, a live-recording is as good as anything else you’re likely to hear and no two recordings of a given track will likely sound the same. A testament to musicianship!

B-side, ‘My Two Kids’, is easily among my favourite MN jams. As my housemate put it, it’s like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash in pyjamas”. Narcoleptic, slurred, but with an undeniably rockin’ vitality. One foot in bed, the other in the Centrelink line. This version was recorded in Lyttelton on their NZ trip last year. This information is relevant, as several of the groups I would hazard Mad Nanna derive their sound from hail from this bountiful continent: Scorched Earth Policy, Plagal Grind, Axemen. None of these references are singularly apt, more so in terms of a mutually displaced frayed quality skirting the edges of ineffable pop sensibilities. Another great single from one of the most consistent and prolific bands in modern animation.

Label: Unwucht
Release Date: July 2012