Review: ST 37 - I'm Not Good

There are few bands who deserve the 'legendary' epithet more than ST 37, a band who have released almost 20 albums in a 30 year career. I would imagine that most people whose taste veers towards the psychedelic/spacepunk have at least one ST 37 album in their collection. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that 'I'm Not Good' is not a 'new' album, having been released on tape and digitally by Cleopatra Records back in 2014 (it also had a tape release via Go Johnny Go). The reason for this review is that the good people at Pariah Child and The Yoshiwara Collective had given it a well-deserved and pretty lush vinyl release.

As albums go, it's gotta be said that 'I'm Not Good' is up there with the best...I hesitate to state that it is the band's best outing but it brings to bear the experience and chops that 30 years of recording and gigging bring. Opener 'Down On Us' starts with the chirping of crickets and the croaking of frogs and sounds all very bucolic. After 2 minutes of this soundtrack to southern swamplands the guitars enter in a whirl of fuzz and coruscating riffs while the vocals moan plaintively. Echo and delay give the track a spacey and spacious feel and straight away you know you are in for helluva ride over the next 12 tracks. 'Doppelganger' opens with some oscillating electronica before a simple bassline and acoustic guitar set up what is destined to become an understated track that hides it power under a bushel...for when you truly listen you can hear more circular riffs and an undercurrent of pure electric power. It is this power that bursts forth at the 2 minute mark in a hail of deep fuzz. The harmonised vocals give the track a West Coast feel to it but it's that steady hum of static that hits home. 'Dirty Little Homewrecker' is heralded by some spoken word sampled from, what I guess to be, an old US sitcom. The spoken word continues but is subsumed by some cosmic guitarwork, whirling and spiraling around the speakers. 'In Crowd' is a cover of the old Dobie Gray song, later covered by Roxy Music and The Mamas and Papas amongst others. Whilst the words and melody are recognisable, the original's Northern Soul feel has been replaced by chugging spacerock that subverts the song to meet the band's own need. As cover versions go it's a ripper and the harmonised, Beach Boys like vocals on the chorus are inspired. 'Odd Ass Silence' is a more discordant piece where feedback meets atonal, buzzing electronica for an abstract minute and half that is followed by another cover version, this time a more modern song, Edwyn Collins' 'Girl Like You'. As with the 'In Crowd' the band stamp their own identity all over it...gone is the twee Scottish indie feel to be replaced by something far more menacing...whilst the vocals play things straight, there is a background of bubbling effects, pulsating bass and red-hot guitar workouts. As the song progresses it morphs into something completely different - the vocals remain but gone are guitars and bass to be replaced by drones and clicks of electronica only for the fuzz to return for a earth shaking climax of riffs and drums..brilliant! 'Baxty' is up next and is a melange of exotic rhythms and beautifully plucked guitar. It is truly reminiscent of fellow Texans the great Butthole Surfers but when the guitars are cranked up it is heavier than most Surfers tracks..if I was forced at gunpoint to pick only one track from the album for a mixtape, this would have to be it. The addition of 'Marina' (at the expense of 'Eroica Horns') is the only change from the aforementioned earlier release of the album...it is a heady mix of backmasked guitars and spoken word that is as discombobulating as it is lysergically bewitching. The wonderfully titled 'Magnetic amphibian hydrated gills' is another reminiscent of the Buttholes..in fact it's like the Buttholes playing Gong - a bewildering mix of instrumentation and tempos that leaves the listener breathless and not a little confused..like tripping without bothering the blotters. 'Feeding friendzy' opens like a Southern Rock ballad complete with what sounds like a pedal steel and saccharine vocals....you listen and keep expecting things to bloom forth...and it does, in a flurry of stratospheric guitar and fuzz. 'The Pit Out Back' is a storming track full of punk angst, hard as nails riffing and even some twang bordering on surf. 'Doppelganger's Doppelganger' brings this majestic album to a close with some more rural farm noises and bluegrass guitar.

'I'm Not Good' is a rare thing...an album of seriously good psychedelic spacerock that packs a real punch..and I mean punch, when some of those psyched-up riffs hit, they hit hard....but it retains a sense of mischief that makes it an album to which you listen from start to finish with a wide, shit-eating grin on your face. The way the band subvert and play with the form is inspirational, as the choice and the mechanics of the cover versions attest. I realise that I'm preaching to the converted a tad here, as anyone who digs ST 37 will already have this album in one of its former incarnations, but to anyone that hasn't had the pleasure, get on it - it may very well change your life! As previously stated the new, remastered vinyl version is lush....pressed on monochrome vinyl, one black LP and white LP to match the artwork in the heavy gatefold sleeve...a beautiful product all round. It can be ordered via The Yoshiwara Collective's webstore here or via Pariah Child here.