For a moment her shadow was asleep
A painted argument
Several moments overlapping
Trampled by reason
Girl with the Siamese hands
Shouting at ghosts
No surface
Her mind grew a body of its own and devoured her brain
Underneath
Rhetorical music
Saliva
Melt
Torture forever those who do not believe your lies
Ghost of a broken bird ( trapped inside a cathedral )
Broken objects reassemble
A light filled the whole of the sky
Continuing symptoms
One leg missing
String theory
I look at faces and I see clouds
Particle accelerator

Paul Taylor and Kevin Tomkins. Now there’s a couple of bad ass motherfuckers if ever there was. They’ve been off the radar so long that no-one expected to hear of them again. Main players in Sutcliffe Jügend…yeah that Sutcliffe Jügend…who released amongst others the controversially titled "We spit on their graves", the extreme headfuck of "Death Mask", the evil "When pornography is no longer enough" and their masterwork "The Victim as Beauty". Everyone should own a copy of that piece of brilliance. Not content with that they were also founder members of the criminally ignored rawk combo Bodychoke. Fucking ‘A’. Bodychoke were fucking amazing. "Mindshaft", "Five Prostitutes" and "Cold River Songs" put misogyny and misery together in a blazing frenzy of thumping tunes. Sutcliffe Jugend & Bodychoke. Do the Pokemon. You just gotta collect them all.

Paul Taylor and Kevin Tomkins. Back recording again. You’ve been gone far too long. Time has mellowed them. Time has given them fresh impetus. Time has made them explore previously unknown chattered musical vistas. Time for the review proper.

Paul Taylor and Kevin Tomkins latest will certainly come as a surprise / shock (delete as appropriate) to the army of Sutcliffe Jugend / Bodychoke fans awaiting this release. Purists will hate it. Expect to see the ritual burning of the cd on the streets anytime soon. For "Between Silences" is twenty one improvisations recorded between 1998 - 2005 using a variety of instruments and other items. Toys, radio, voice, field recordings, drum machine, violin, static, synthesizer, guitars and more crop up to be scrunched up and spat out in unrecognisable forms. That word. That fucking one word that has so many bad associations. Improvisations. Normally thought of as the home to free form Jazz wankers or rock musicians who have run out of ideas. ‘Hey let’s all hit our instruments randomly and if we’re quick enough we can lay down the album and still make it to the pub before closing time’. Bad associations. Can’t escape them. Improvisations aren’t all like that as "Between Silences" proves. Through the use of overdubs and other alchemy (that non musicians such as I can never comprehend or understand), the music produced on this recording veers from black and surreal ambient sound sculptures to gentle experimental humour filled tom foolery and occasionally straying into the dreaded ‘fuck off you piss takers’ territory. But it’s never deadly dull due in no part to the love for the project from these respected musicians. If a track doesn’t do it for you just move onto the next one. CDs are great for giving you that freedom. You can play all the pieces in order or pick out tracks randomly. Works brilliantly both ways. Electrifying and quite beautiful in places and thoughtful and confusing in others "Between Silences" is a recording that mixes everything up and lets you make up your own thoughts on the subject of improvisations. It certainly changed my view on the subject to a more positive aspect.

Paul Taylor and Kevin Tomkins. Bringing you a more softer discerning approach to previous recordings. Giving something new to chew and cogitate over. A precious insight into where they may go next. For Sutcliffe Jügend will be returning very soon. Sadly no word of Bodychoke though. We wait with baited breath. Until then…throw your outdated perceptions out the window and dive into this remarkable recording. Fear not the unknown.

ANM