Description
#thecat&bellsclub #vinyl #vinylrecords
Prepare to immerse yourself in the raw and unfiltered soundscapes of The Cat and Bells Club, the pre-Shadow Ring recordings by the youthful duo of Graham Lambkin and Darren Harris. These long-overdue insights shed light on one of outsider music’s most enigmatic and uncompromising units, showcasing their unapologetic approach and unconventional sonic creations.
Originally planned for release on Lambkin’s now-defunct Kye Records in the early 2000s, The Cat and Bells Club’s recordings reveal a menagerie of eccentric misshapes. The tracks were captured straight to a boombox in Lambkin’s S.H.P. studio-cum-bedroom at his parents’ house in Cheriton, a quaint town in Hampshire where Lambkin and soon-to-be Shadow Ring member Darren Harris resided.
Inspired by the likes of early Marc Bolan, The Incredible String Band, Whitehouse, The Godz, and the early Forced Exposure mailing lists, Lambkin and Harris embarked on their musical adventures armed with detuned chazza-shop guitars and coffee cups for drums. The recordings document the creative endeavors of two young minds defying boredom in the picturesque yet typically mundane English town of Cheriton.
With the exception of a few “songs” included on The Cat and Bells Club’s ‘1991 Pre-Shadow Ring Recordings’ 7″ release in 2010, the vast majority of this archival treasure remained hidden, known only to a select few “hangers-on, inner-circle drinking allies, and the most devoted of fans.” The complete collection offers a glimpse into their world, akin to the spirits of Sam Esh and Burroughs inhabiting a couple of adolescent rural oddballs.
The name “The Cat and Bells Club” was derived from a misheard lyric in The Incredible String Band’s ‘The Iron Stone,’ and it served as a jumping-off point for the duo’s backwater mythos. Drawing influence from The Incredible String Band, early works of Marc Bolan’s T. Rex, and more outré inspirations, they created a whimsical world revolving around the daily life of Cheriton and anthropomorphic animalculæ.
Lyrics are delivered in a mix of oblique and barely audible tones or droll poetry, accompanied by the tapping of a typewriter on ‘Raven Chest’ or the background hum of a TV on the deadpan ‘Father’s Dead.’ The songs are often driven by spunky, semi-folk-bloozy yanks of a found guitar. While clearly not intended for mass consumption, their audacious and captivating sound appeals to outsider tastes, deconstructing English quaintness in a truly unique and captivating manner.
The Cat and Bells Club’s recordings transport us to the nascent buzz of creating playful tapes with friends, capturing the essence of dare-to-differ souls fully immersed in their element. Undistracted by social media, Lambkin and Harris embody the spirit of making a cruddy racket for the sheer craic of it. These unearthed recordings serve as a reminder of the power of youthful creativity and the joy of exploring uncharted musical territories.
