Review: Mildred Maude - CPA I - III

Holy shit...where did this come from? Well, I know where it came from...from 3 guys from Cornwall, under the name of Mildred Maude, who went into a studio on 16th January 2017 and recorded their debut album. What I meant was...from what deranged collective mind came something so scuzzy, so dangerous.... and so goddamned good! Initially released as download only, The Weird Beard have given this a deserved vinyl release and kudos to them for that. The three tracks on 'CPA I - III' were recorded live "as captured snippets of the band's continually existing and evolving song, CPA (Cosmic Pink Alignment). The song began at 8pm on 14th November 2014." Does this mean, I think to myself, that there will be more 'CPA' forthcoming in the future...if this album is anything to go by then I bloody hope so.

'CPA I' opens with a flurry of programmed beats and squealing feedback that can scare small children and dogs before it settles down into a mutated krautrock jam that is as glorious as it is as noisy as hell. Ostensibly built on repetition, the guitars swirl menacingly around a drum/bass combo that anchors everything down amidst the maelstrom. This is not just about the gleeful abandon with which the guys play, there is a serious art to what they are doing...a method in their madness if you will.....a while back the legend that is Damo Suzuki chose the band to be his 'Soundcarriers' for a night and that is an honour that is not given lightly. As the track progresses it becomes more and more intense; the tempo increases and the sheer electrifying morass of fuzz, scuzz and visceral power almost becomes too much to bear. After one of the most exhilarating eighteen minutes of your life (well, musically anyway) it comes to an end and you feel as if you should be reaching for a post-coital cigarette. 'CPA II' is a much shorter affair, opening with some rich guitar tones and wavering drones it evolves into something more structured than 'I' but no less intense. Again, it is built on repetition and the bass especially is as solid as a rock while the guitar is surrounded by a haze of echo. 'CPA III' sees the guys channel their inner Butthole Surfers with some feedback drenched guitar and skittering drums that come together to create a track that just builds and builds. The 'Buddy Rich on amphetamine' drums create a jarring base around which the guitar whirls and tumbles, streaking off in all directions like a three year old hyped up on blue smarties....it is simply glorious. After another breathless eighteen minutes we can draw breath but have no choice but to turn the record over and start again.

This has to be one of the most exhilarating records I've heard in some while..a true psychedelic rollercoaster of a ride. It is one of those records that leaves you agog with its ferocity and its malevolent mischievousness...brilliant stuff! It is available from the Weird Beard webstore here and comes on funky pink vinyl.