Matching Mole - Matching Mole (1972)

#Músicaparaelencierro. Allá por 1972, habiendo publicado su primer disco solista, "The End Of An Ear", y luego de grabar "Fourth" con Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt "abandonó" el grupo por diferencias creativas y fundó en octubre de 1971 Matching Mole (nombre que surge de “machine molle”, que es la traducción francesa de Soft Machine). Estaba integrada por su antiguo compañero de The Wilde Flowers David Sinclair (integrante de Caravan), Phil Miller (que hasta ese entonces había estado en Delivery) y Bill MacCormick (Quiet Sun). He aquí el álbum debut de Matching Mole, uno de los tantos y excelentes aportes de Torrentinto! 

Artista: Matching Mole 

Álbum: Matching Mole
Año: 1972
Género: Canterbury Scene
Duración: 39:52
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra

 

También contó con la colaboración del tecladista Dave MacRae, quien para el segundo álbum de la banda, "Little Red Record", reemplazaría a Dave Sinclair.

Tengo que hacer una pequeña aclaración. Si bien el aporte de toda la banda es importante, es muy difícil no destacar la creatividad de Robert Wyatt, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que gran parte del disco está compuesto por él. Lo que voy a decir supongo que es algo un poco trivial, pero no puedo dejar de resaltar la maravilla de artista que Robert Wyatt es. Tiene una impronta muy fuerte y personal, enseguida te das cuenta de que lo estás escuchando. De esta forma, en este primer disco de Matching Mole nos encontramos con canciones que se hacen y se deshacen, especialmente según las reglas de la genialidad y locura de Robert. Algunas no tienen un rumbo definido, como ocurre al final del disco con “Beer As In Braindeer” e “Inmediate Curtain” (razón por la cual termino con una sensación de extrañeza, baaah, no sé si “extrañeza” es la palabra, es como un mezcla entre extrañeza y fascinación). Personalmente, no puedo evitar dividir el disco en tres partes. La primera estaría conformada por “O Caroline”, “Instant Pussy” y “Signed Curtain”. En la segunda, tendríamos a “Part Of The Dance”, “Instant Kitten” y “Dedicated To Hugh, But You Weren’t Listening”, donde hay mucho más de jazz y el carácter de la música se vuelve más agresivo. Y finalmente tenemos a  “Beer As In Braindeer” e “Inmediate Curtain”, que son, para mí, de las más experimentales.

El disco abre con “O Caroline”, quizás uno de los temas más conocidos de Matching Mole. Es una muy linda y conmovedora canción de amor, la cual está basada en la ruptura de Wyatt con su antigua novia, Caroline Coon. Hay algunas partes que me hacen recordar el primer álbum de Robert, The End Of An Ear. Por ejemplo, “Instant Pussy” me hace acordar a “To Carla, Marsha and Caroline (For Making Everything Beautifuller)”. Luego continuamos con “Signed Curtain”, la cual tiene una letra con bastante sentido del humor (“This is the first verse(…)/And this is the chorus/Or perhaps it's a bridge/Or just another part of the song that I'm singing/And this is the second verse(…)/Or just another key change(…)”). Hasta acá hay una atmósfera bastante tranquila, con unos gentiles mellotrón y piano, la frágil y única voz de Robert, pero con “Part Of The Dance” cambia ese clima. Para empezar, es notorio que la composición es de Phil Miller (la cual, por cierto, me parece una genialidad!) . Particularmente ésta y las siguientes dos canciones son las más dinámicas de todo el disco. En “Dedicated To Hugh, But You Weren’t Listening” supongo que debe estar dedicada claramente a Hugh Hopper, su ex compañero de Soft Machine (haciendo referencia también a la canción de Soft Machine “Dedicated To You, But You Weren’t Listening”, del segundo disco).
Finalmente, volvemos a una atmósfera un poquito más tranquila, aunque con momentos de bastante tensión. Las composiciones, como había dicho antes, no tienen una dirección definida, pero definitivamente eso no hace que sea menos bello. Pensándolo mejor, esa “extrañeza” que me produce tiene que estar ligada a lo misteriosas que son!
En lo personal, es un álbum que me encanta, creo que no tiene desperdicio!
Espero que lo disfruten muchísimo y no se olviden de agradecerle a Torrentinto :) 

Dejo por acá algunos comentarios más:

"Robert Wyatt, the Canterbury mastermind was done with Soft Machine. The band's radical turn towards jazz proved to be a bit too much for Wyatt with his more psychedelic or progressive-oriented sensibilities. Dave Sinclair, a keyboard virtuoso, formerly of Caravan also happened to have just parted ways with his group. Joined by a few other musicians, namely Phil Miller, Bill McCormick and Dave McRae, they teamed up to create Matching Mole. The name "Matching Mole" comes from French "machine molle", which means Soft Machine.Matching Mole's debut is a quintessential Canterbury scene album. All the ingredients are there. In comparison to Soft Machine's works of the period, this is a lot more musically organised. It also does not rely as much on improvisational factor. However, that does not mean the sacrifice of jazz qualities. A wide variety Robert Wyatt's fixtures is detectable as well. Dave Sinclair brings a bit of Caravan's sound himself. In addition to Sinclair's smooth organ textures and Dave McRae's electric piano parts, Wyatt introduces a Mellotron, which I consider to be perfectly utilized. It proves to be irreplaceable on experimental symphonic passages such as on the closing track - "Immediate Curtain". The instrument supplies Matching Mole with a very distinct, unique majestic sound, which fits perfectly in their style.
The material is made up of light melodic pieces and ballads supported by a piano (often played by Robert Wyatt himself), which resolve into sophisticated jazz rock jams, frequently in sophisticated time signatures and one full-on avant-garde tune ("Immediate Curtain"). Occasionally, the tracks are linked, the first three for example, with every one having a slightly different mood and feel.
Overall, I believe this to be a prominent Canterbury scene album, a significant, one-of-a-kind work. It shows a transitional period of the subgenre - nearly free from psychedelic noodlings, but far from full-on jazz fusion that it would become later on in the decade. Very highly recommended. 4.5 stars!"

ALotOfBottle

"Robert Wyatt's first album as a band leader, following his exit from Soft Machine, shows the broad range of his musical interests - almost all of which were being ignored by his former band at this point, with their fourth and fifth albums being devoted to fairly strait-laced jazz fusion. Not that there's no jazz influence here - far from it - but the album is infused with Wyatt's hitherto-stifled personality, from the touching love song O Caroline that opens the album (the simplest track) to the more challenging, free jazz-influenced material that follows.At times, the album sounds like a more approachable, tighter, and interesting version of Wyatt's An End of an Ear, his voice-as-instrument solo album; at other points, it sounds like rough sketches for Hatfield and the North. The latter part isn't so surprising, since after the demise of the Mole guitarist Phil Miller became a founder of Hatfield and the North, and the most Hatfield-sounding song on the album, Part of the Dance, is actually a Miller composition.The second Matching Mole album was a bit more diverse in its songwriting - the majority of the material here is by Wyatt, but that's really no surprise considering that by the time of his exit from Soft Machine he must have had quite a stash of juicy musical ideas which had been glossed over by his former band. I think it's a vitally important album both to Wyatt's discography and to the development of the Canterbury scene as a whole."

 Warthur

 "A lot of listeners and fans that love Soft Machine at time when Robert Wyatt was on the register might exist. The music character of initial Soft Machine existed as a band of fine quality in the flow that derived in directionality and Canterbury where the age had been caught in the part of the united music characters and Jazz Rock. The humour of Robert Wyatt and the sensibility in the dada were very important as the part where the music character of Soft Machine had been established.
However, the situation of member's changing places the activity of Soft Machine and in. Or, it changes in the album and the directionality announced after it transfers the register to CBS. And, the flavor of Jazz Rock that Hugh Hopper has might increased acceleration further. Soft Machine has succeeded by the content of "Fourth" announced in "Third" and 1971 announced as a result in 1970 in the establishment of a mid-term music character. However, if the music character that Soft Machine did contained the part of merits and demerits, it will have been a situation in inverse proportion to the music character of Robert Wyatt.
There is already a theory that says that it had facing to the music character that Soft Machine established it as a plan Robert Wyatt by "The End Of An Ear" that Robert Wyatt announced in 1971.
After Soft Machine secedes as a result, tried Robert Wyatt starts the formation of this new band at once to have them express the element of POP and the humour as music. However, this band put a period as a result with the activity for about two years. The road as the player was cut due to the accident that Robert Wyatt had caused. However, the time of the accident that Robert Wyatt caused agrees with time when Matching Mole tries the re- formation and 3rd album was rehearsed. However, the activity as the band might have been still fatal.
Existence of Dave Sinclair with history of activity in Wilde Flowers at time different from Robert Wyatt. And, Phil Miller before it joins Hatfield And The North exists. Existence of Bill MacCormick that supports wonderful music in Quiet Sun. A thing that was the most important is not ..mistake.. "each member is Music in Canterbury at that time. It is said that Robert Wyatt from which it was demanded to maintain only the rhythm in the flow that constructs the music of Soft Machine surely felt reluctance. To make this band demonstrate own power of expression to its maximum, Robert Wyatt might already have been done. The technology of the member who gathers to make them an embodiment is also splendid. Soft Machine and Matching Mole left tracks for the history of the music of Canterbury as a result walking on a mutually separate road.
"O Caroline" is a tune that the sensibility of Robert Wyatt is exactly demonstrated. Progress of beautiful piano Chord. And, the song of Robert Wyatt that wears nostalgia. Sound of Mellotron effectively used. A transparent feeling that rules the whole can splendidly listen to the music character of Robert Wyatt.
As for "Instant Pussy", the melody with the anacatesthesia and the line of Bass are impressive. Construction of peculiar scat that Robert Wyatt does and rhythm that moves freely. The atmosphere of the tune is decided in union the band. The sound of the decoration with the keyboard is also effective.
"Signed Curtain" is a tune with the form of the ballade around which Chord of Piano with expression of feelings completely is twined with the song that Robert Wyatt is beautiful. It might be a tune that gives a famous impression that excludes the part of the extra. The sensibility of Robert Wyatt shines enough in this tune.
"Part Of The Dance" is Jazz Rock with a complete anacatesthesia and the tension. The band continues the tension in union. Performance of band that explodes after some repeated themes. Processing of sound that guitar and keyboard freely create. Or, the processing of the space that the tune rules might be perfect.
"Instant Kitten" starts from the part where a complete anacatesthesia is produced. The construction of the sound that flows in one space will shift to an explosion by the band and a complete melody before long. Caravan and Hatfields might be reminiscent as the impression of the tune. Construction of melody that multiuses Syncopation. It might be Rock splendidly exactly expressed as music of Canterbury.
"Dedicated To Hugh,But You Weren't LIstening" shifts from the part of Intro with the tension to the part of the rhythm and the melody with the dash feeling further. Solo of the guitar is expressed well. It is likely to be caught as an original tune that is that they do. Progress of repeated Chord. The tension continues.
"Beer As In Braindeer" has the form of complete Free Jazz. Development to recollect music character of Soft Machine. Or, it is partial in the line of Bass that brings the element of Quiet Sun in. Processing of sound of keyboard to contribute to tune as much as possible. It is finished ..the composition that each member's flavor is surely united without staying in the form of simple Free Jazz... The entire composition of the album is calculated well.
It is ..composition experimental ..use.... finished .."Immediate Curtain".. effective Mellotron. The idea that Robert Wyatt cultivated might have tried to be followed perhaps and to emphasize the existence of this band. The impression that a perfect tension exists together to beauty and destruction is given to the listener. It is a very famous tune.
Robert Wyatt might have started exactly making this band demonstrate the expression of the self. And, the base that Robert Wyatt cultivated is not an exaggeration perhaps to say that everything will start from the music character at this time."

Kazuhiro 

 

Lista de Temas:

1. O Caroline 

2. Instant Pussy 
3. Signed Curtain 
4. Part Of The Dance 
5. Instant Kitten 
6. Dedicated To Hugh, But You Weren't Listening 
7. Beer As In Braindeer 
8. Immediate Curtain 

Alineación:

- Robert Wyatt / drums, vocals, piano, mellotron 
- Dave Sinclair / Hammond organ, piano
- Bill MacCormick / bass 
- Phil Miller / guitar 

- Dave McRae / electric piano