In a land far away and in a time long forgotten (or something like that), a series of superficially trivial CDs were created by a shadowy figure called Adam Ross and miraculously transported to Bluesbunny Towers. Those poetic tales of the time honoured struggle of being the square peg in the round hole duly made a positive impression.
In the here and now, our Mr Ross has bonded with some like minded souls to form Randolph’s Leap and to thus present their first EP “Battleships & Kettle Chips” released on Glasgow micro label Olive Grove Records. The question, however, is whether the magic of those early recordings is still there. Well, yes it is. Our Mr Ross has one of those non-voices that shouldn’t work but it does – anyway, a non-voice didn’t prove too much of a hindrance to Ian Curtis or Serge Gainsbourg did it? – and it rather neatly complements the laconic self loathing of the socially awkward portrayed in the words of these five songs. The lyrics shine brightly with humour with “the invisible man had it easy – try being the unlikeable man” from the song “Water” nearly causing me to spill my beer. In more careless or self obsessed hands, this EP would have been a maudlin affair. Not here however as Randolph’s Leap have managed to turn the frustrations of life into something positive and uplifting (and I’m still singing along to “Undergod” too). That, in marketing terms, is a unique selling point these days.
It’s getting cold and it is actually raining but who cares? I, for one, don’t. The quality of song writing and the buoyant performances in “Battleships & Kettle Chips” prove that there is sunshine out there. All you have to do is look for it. Or just buy it, of course.