Officer! is BACK? Nah. Well, sorta. Blackest Ever Black tore into the chest of its deep discography and conjured up an unreleased album from the 90s, Dead Unique, this past Monday; and to kick it off PROPER, here’s another snippet, “Elephant Flowers.” And it’s ultra smashed-out trippy. Not in a harsh way, but in a way of intricacy: Alto woodwind blowin’ it out. Random distorted vocal bits. Lingering bass. Rhythmically slapped-around drumming. Light-light acoustic guitar. “Elephant Flowers” grows bright and big and (yeah) beautifully bored of getting bogged down, so what’s there to do? Song time. Whoa! These drums really warp at the end here too. YES!
Our good pal TayTayPetes had some gritty info on the Officer! outfit last month:
Mick Hobbs, of course, is not just a solo sandwich-losing joker. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Hobbs worked with all manner of UK-based experimental and post-punk groups, including initially The Work, and later groups such as Flaming Tunes and Family Fodder. He was also quite closely associated with This Heat’s Brixton-based Cold Storage studio, recording his 1984 LP Ossification there. In the early 90s he moved to the US to work alongside Jad Fair’s Half Japanese project. His Officer! project, though a solo endeavor, gave him the opportunity to collaborate with all his pals, including on Dead Unique everyone from Patrick Q of The Legendary Pink Dots, the animator and illustrator Marsha Colburn, and Jad Fair.
Dead Unique is out NOW via Blackest Ever Black on 2xLP, CD, and digital, so scope “Elephant Flowers” below until the physical arrives, as always:
• Blackest Ever Black: http://blackesteverblack.bigcartel.com