Review: Nudity - Is God's Creation

Fuck me sideways, this is AWESOME! - If I could I would just leave this review right there (and I was damned tempted to do so). For a while there has been a rumble about this double LP from Cardinal Fuzz - Dave C from the label has been eager to release something by these guys for a while and when the news leaked out it was forthcoming there was a palpable murmur that bordered on the euphoric in some quarters. I'm not ashamed to say that for a while I was confused as to what the fuss was about, Nudity were a band with whom I was not au fait in the slightest and the reverential tones about which this release was talked gave me the distinct feeling I had missed out on something in the past. When I investigated further, boy was I right! As it transpired I WAS au fait with Nudity mainman Dave Harvey's previous band, Tight Bros From Way Back When, indeed their track 'Nose In The Corner' is a mainstay on any mixtape (or newfangled digital variation thereof) I may put together. Anyway, back to the point...'Is God's Creation' is a retrospective of Nudity's prior output; a couple of self-distributed Cdrs and a 12". As mentioned Nudity are Dave Harvey from Tight Bros and he is joined by Jon Quilter, also from Tight Bros, on bass (although on most of these tracks bass duties are undertaken by Josh Haynes from Feral Ohms) and Eryn Ross (Growling) on drums. The fact that Nudity are beloved by Julian Cope should be a clue as to what to expect.

This double album opens with a blast of guitar....no leisurely intros here. 'Now I'm resting' is a stormer and sets the tone nicely, high octane garage rock'n'roll complete with lashings of feedback and oozing attitude. 'This Man' takes its cue from the previous track and adds a juicy dollop of protopunk for good measure. 'Moon Druids' is a short (sub 3 minutes) and is an interesting mix of late sixties psych, complete with flute, and good ol' rock and roll with more than a touch of Hawkwindesque spacyness. 'Birdsong' is the first of the lengthier tracks, at just over 10 minutes, and the first to include sitar. It's a wonderful slice of psychedelia; the sitar adding more than a touch of the exotic and guitar hazy and fuzzy. It all melds together beautifully and it's only when you stop and really listen that you realise just how heavy those guitars are. I mentioned Hawkwind above, and the next track is a cover of their 'Hurry On Sundown' and yet another side to Nudity. This time around we have a more focused track that may not cut loose like the prior tracks but instead relies on a chugging rhythm section, some righteous harmonica and a bluesy approach to things. 'Elevate In Rotation' sees 'normal' service resumed with more protopunk a la The Stooges...another absolute stormer with attitude, enough riffage to shake the foundations and even a couple of real rawk screams for good measure. 'Rubicon' marks a shift in momentum; the tracks get longer and based more on building and growing rather than the aural equivalent of a punch in the face. It has some glorious psychedelic guitar work. The track is constantly changing and evolving, adding different dimensions with each shift, but the blistering R'n'R is pretty much ever-present. By the end of the track's nine and a half minutes the listener is left breathless and gagging for more.....which they duly receive with next track 'The Nightfeeders'. This is the sort of song that reminds me of why I love psychedelic music...this is an absolute monster and easily my fave. The intro, with its motorik beat and squealing guitar builds and builds and gradually the track transmogrifies into one of those wah-wah and fuzz infused freakouts that we all love....majestic! The next track I was sort of dreading....I worship at the the altar of Japanese psychedelia and 'Make Up' is a cover of the Flower Travellin Band, probably my favourite of many awesome Japanese bands..anyway, I needn't have worried...Nudity give the track the respect and reverence it deserves whilst putting their own spin on proceedings, resulting in yet another brain scrambling slice of psych heaven....phew! The collection is brought to a close with ‘Le Premier Voyage du Capitaine’, another long track at over 21 minutes. It is another sitar heavy raga track but is a more reflective than, say, 'Birdsong'. It is fitting that it closes proceedings with yet another facet to this most fluid of bands.

'Is God's Creation' is a thing of wonder...for any band to produce such a breadth of output is impressive; encompassing blistering garage rock, protopunk blasts, brain melting psych and more meditative excursions into the void. Most bands would be happy to stick to one style, but Nudity are obviously not 'most' bands. This retrospective charts their evolution with quite spectacular results and I can see it becoming central to many a vinyl collection - this is one of those records that you order and then spend hours sitting by the letterbox waiting for the postman, feeling despondent if it is not delivered that day. It is also one of those records that see me fast running out of superlatives - it is simply genius! Much kudos to Dave at Cardinal Fuzz for following his heart and releasing it. Pre-orders are up now on the CF site here. release date id 26th September.