The clan Perzinski release another salvo in their cunning plan for world domination. Attempting to confuse our minds further, they are using the Tarred Brigade alias this time.
Whilst some of the tracks could easily form part of their alternative Agrarians persona ("The Accurate Betrayal", for example), the songs featuring Allison Perzinski's vocals take a somewhat different direction. "Opposites Attract Samurai" swirls like some hippy remix of a medieval madrigal. It's a lot more intriguing than it sounds. There's even an instrumental ("My Jewish Blues") that sounds curiously mellow, not unlike something Jerry Goldsmith would have done for a western movie in the seventies. Then it's back to discord and lava lamps for "WolfBerry" before a folky, ethereal "Haunting the Majesties!" brings peace once more.
Stubbornly lo-fi and lyrically oblique, Tarred Brigade seem almost primal compared to the polished sounds most of us are used to. However, primitive thoughts run through the most civilised of minds and that is perhaps the appeal of this album. It seems to connect to a different part of your brain than music usually does. No doubt that will confuse a lot of people but some of you will probably start wondering if burning effigies was such a bad thing after all.