– THE MILITARY COUP –

If you’re not from the UK, there’s something you should know about Birmingham; they do things a bit different there.

The home of Black Sabbath, a shopping centre called the Bull Ring and the comedian, Jasper Carrott, the Brummies are well known for having a wicked sense of humour – sometimes with the emphasis being on the ‘wicked’ part.

And so it is with Young Pilgrims – a nine-strong ‘jazz’ band who sound like they’re doing Sabbath covers half the time, so heavy, sludgy and riff-filled is their music.

Since 2013 they’ve been sharing their darkly comical genius with the world, most notably on their 2016 debut Little Things.

Canal Tripping is the second single to be released from a forthcoming studio album.

The track itself (and – in somewhat exaggerated form, you suspect – the music video) document an unfortunate incident that happened to trombonist Richard Foote.

The band’s front-man fell off his bike into one of Brum’s canals only to be rescued (along with his transportation and instrument of choice) by a passer-by.

The panicked incident is scored perfectly by the band’s front line of trumpets, trombones, baritone sax and sousaphone.

Meanwhile, the drumming double-threat of Jonathan Silk and Euan Palmer ensure the band never include a dramatic pause when a paradiddle roll will do.

The as-yet unnamed album is due out due late this year on Stoney Lane Records and will be accompanied by an unorthodox tour of Britain’s provincial bandstands.

Like I say, they do things a bit different in Birmingham.

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX

BRITTANY HOWARD: HISTORY REPEATS
TENESHA THE WORDSMITH: WHY WHITE FOLKS CAN’T CALL ME NIGGA
NEUE GRAFIK ENSEMBLE: HEDGEHOG’S DILEMMA
ZOE’S SHANGHAI: NO CURE

P.S. You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –