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Sweet Potato - MASH

Having released three albums of improvised recordings, Bristolian twenty-somethings Sweet Potato release Mash- a perverted rock album of note. Lolloping, strangely propulsive rhythms underpin impressively enormous riffs and the operatic vocals of Stephen Baker, creating a record that has its fair share of headbanging moments, but retains a jazz sensibility throughout. Although decidely less pastoral, Mash brings to mind the Canterbury Scene in the way it toys effortlessly with generic conventions, yet manages to produce something considerably greater than the sum of its already impressive parts. ‘We’ll Think’ starts out all Twin Peaks paranoia before erupting into a bizarre, deconstructed Beefheartian take on metal (complete with squelchy synths); ‘Slow Priest Turns the Mummers On’ combines handclaps with duelling sax and clarinet improvisations whilst Poor Old Abe’ takes off where Black Sabbath finished with ‘Fairies Wear Boots’. Yet despite this variety, the record is highly successful in defining an instantly recognisable sound. For fans of Gentle Giant, Faith no More, Captain Beefheart, Lords, Soft Machine and Egg.