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‘Seven Eggs for Seven Sisters’ is the first track taken from Historically F*cked’s new album ‘The Mule Peasants’ Revolt of 12,067’, out Feb 3rd on Upset The Rhythm.

But who are Historically F*cked? Someone said something about carrots and a head of broccoli, I think that’s what someone said? Don’t ask me, hang on, it was half-a-pound of carrots and nothing to do with the indignity of donkeys, see I did get to the end!  We’re back to the start of The Mule Peasants’ Revolt of 12067 now and a re-run of the whole damn thing, the whole beautiful album. What is going on here? Well what we do know from the press release (the cheat sheet as it were), what we do know is that the gloriously named  Historically F*cked are a “four way entanglement made to create short, eruptive songs and then set about obliterating them from the inside, like improvising a barrel to encase themselves in and then proceeding to lick their way out of it. It is about playing and laughing at playing, and it is about not doing either of those things sometimes. Sometimes it is to do with talking, howling or grunting, and sometimes it is to do with hitting and rubbing” and actually that is a rather accurate description of what’s going on here. 
 
Historically F*cked consist of four people, who knows who’s doing what? Apparently they all share the duties, they are are Otto Willberg, David Birchall, Greta Buitkuté and Alecs Pierce. They’re from Manchester and, according to the press release, “often other places”. We’re told that “guitar, bass, drums and voices keenly jostle amid the group’s frenzy of spontaneous rock throttles”. What we actually have is a collection of barely formed beautifully formed pieces, not sure we can call them compositions can we? Improvised free form abstractions maybe? Tantrums? No, not tantrums, it feels more controlled than that, or at least someone is holding on and keep things just about on the tracks

The press release (where would we be without the press release?) goes on to tell us that “some of these rampant exercises in avant are collected on ‘The Mule Peasants’ Revolt of 12,067’, the band’s new album”, we’re told that the album is to be released by Upset The Rhythm on February 3rd next year (assuming you’re reading this in 2022) and that “this is the group’s first release since 2018’s mantlepiece staple ‘Aliven Wool’ (Heavy Petting). This is Rock and/or Roll as fertilizer, uncivilised and free, as if one were to imagine what the Plastic Ono Band would’ve hit upon if they had read ‘Riddley Walker’, the sound of an entire timeline of expression put back together back-to-front, misshapen and irradiated”. And yes, the Plastic Ono band probably is the only serious comparison you can throw at them, maybe a little Pre or Aids Wolf? Or maybe some of the beautiful things Sofia Martins Gray comes up with Starsha Lee when they really let loose and ditch the actual rock ‘n roll. I like this, it isn’t as simple as the press release and the “badger in the Bag” bits would have us believe, it has some form, it has some substance, something to hold on to, it has depth.   

“The Mule Peasants’ Revolt of 12,067’ is not mere Sedentary Rock but Blasted Basalt, Frog worshipping cave-funk, harmolodic hullabaloo-wop, a musical game of “badger in the bag”. It is the sound of sacks crammed full of aggregate, a chimerical mind-meld, a seductive din that is to a hound dog in blue suede shoes what a raking of the dorsal fin with a fat marrow pinecone is to a pelican in the midst of being fired from the academy”

I’d actually argue they know where all the bits go, or at least the natural flow has some kind of structured subliminal form, an actual skeleton if you like, well maybe not but that’s the way I hear it. They don’t hold back, this is real commitment, full-bodied, no half measures, proper art rock if you will.  Apparently we listened to the single three tracks back, I bet the A&R meeting was wonderful, “yep, that one’s the radio hit, just tidy up the intro and Six Music will be all over it” – Seven Eggs for Seven Sisters is the first single from the album, released today! Well maybe not today but the day this press release and the link landed here, out this first week of December, out somewhere near today.  Twelve-stool Dad sounds like the obvious single to me, the A&R team nessed it up there, they always get it wrong!

Actually this is brilliant, love it! One big bag of glorious noise and yelping, music to paint to! yes indeed, pass me a brush and stand right back, things are going to fly. Love the whole album play it again.  ‘The Mule Peasants’ Revolt of 12,067’ by Historically F*cked was recorded by Rory Salter, mixed by Otto Willberg and mastered by Mikey Young. The liminally worrisome artwork was painted by John Cobweaver (we haven’t got the artwork yet, looking forward to it, no hang on that is the art work with th track on the Soundsloud, it fits, excellent cover, the right artwork matters.
 
“They say these days that History is F*cked. Nothing ever dies but continues to rule the earth as an undead tyrant that cannot accept it’s own decomposition, look earwardly upon the dance of the proudly dead and decrepit!”   Vymethoxy Redspiders – Leeds 2022

So anyway, we’re three Prime Ministers on from when we last covered the Historical ones back at the start of Summer this year, historically flippppped indeed! The band still make far more sense than the motley crew (or indeed the Crue) in the House of Commons, actually Historically F*cked make more sense than most bands do, this is an excellent album, it probably isn’t an album to listen to everyday, but then again, maybe it is? Could it be the perfect way to start ever single day? Wasn’t government advise to go to work on an egg  at some point back there? This is a rather recommended album, there’s very little like it.   

Album pre-order details