JOEYFAT - The Unwilling Astronaut (Reissue) - LP - Vinyl [FEB 14]

LP - Black Vinyl. A collection of early rarities from the genuine treasure of the UK underground. Remastered and available on vinyl for the first time in over two decades. 

Joeyfat, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, are the daddy of all the Sprechgesang bands out there. We searched on Wikipedia; they're not even mentioned. Maybe not such a bad thing. There are young scamps climbing up festival line-ups all over the world with more than a passing sonic and aesthetic resemblance. Influence can be picked up in diluted ways, maybe the true source of the river has been forgotten. Foals heard the source, they were there. So were Everything Everything. Ask them. Black Midi heard it third hand. Life Without Buildings heard it. So did Yard Act. You can see the pattern. From the early '90s Joeyfat, led by Matt Cole and Jason Dormon, have been perfecting and re-perfecting the sound. They toured with Green Day in 1994. They released music on the Fierce Panda label. They recorded BBC Sessions for John Peel and Marc Riley and released four albums and countless singles. They flirted with being known and they didn't like what they saw so they kept it local, building a community by setting up the Tunbridge Wells Forum, one of the great UK small venues. Debut album The House Of The Fat is a masterpiece, the musical precision recalls The Sound or B52s. The spot-on attack of the vocal and lyrics makes us think of Fugazi or Zounds. The Unwilling Astronaut compiles early singles and compilation tracks. Going all the way back to 1993 it shows how close to a DC-inspired hardcore band they were, it's a thrilling listen. Joeyfat shouldn’t need a re-introduction but they’re going to get one. The source of the river. The top of the family tree. This is where the resemblance comes from.

“Legendary angular rock…Edgar Allen Poe meets The Fall” (The Guardian 2003)

“Jarvis Cocker fronting Fugazi” (Melody Maker 1994)

Tracklist: 

1. Little Big Man    
2. Colin The Man Who Became A Country    
3. The Swiss    
4. It Cleans As It Cleans    
5. Cherub/An Arm    
6. Too Clever To Have A Good Time    
7. Perfumery Incendiary   
8. Piecemeal   
9. My Name Is Sue Testament    
10. Kidnapped By Robert Louis Stevenson    
11. Lyn Faulds Wood    
12. Big Dumb Ape   
13. The Dribbler   
14. Gin Rummy For Beginners