224) Pale Blue Dots - Lots Of Dots

Huw Bunford (Bunf) has his place in music history as he was and remains the lead guitarist in Super Furry Animals and is currently playing in Das Koolies with the rest of SFA minus Gruff.

I got talking on X to Shaun Gordon (@slipp3000) about eighteen months ago and he ended up telling me how he had become involved in ensuring the vinyl release of Bunf’s project with Richard Chester, who takes lead vocals on two tracks. The Pale Blue Dots with their record Lots of Dots was released as a digital only album back in 2014 but Shaun with assistance managed the artwork and the track updates to ensure a physical release. Imagine that responsibility, well he passed with flying colours. Shaun kindly sent me two vinyl copies of the album (thank you Shaun exceedingly kind and greatly appreciated and I can only apologise it has taken me so long to review).

Now as we all know in my teens, I knew everything about music (in my mind), only to be constantly shown up for the idiot I am so now I am mature I can freely admit I had never heard of The Pale Blue Dots.

Ten tracks and three are instrumentals with Tokyo Hotel Silence and Silent Tokyo Hotel both positioned to ease us in at the start of the record and halfway through both lovely ambient breaks based on Bunf’s interest in soundscapes. Closer Nebraska has missed it’s moment by fifty years as would have been wonderful playing over Clint Eastwood as he single handily takes out all the baddies in his spaghetti westerns, one for the kids there.

Slow Reaction we have an old time bar room piano starting us off before the first of Richard’s lead vocals arrives and the call back backing vocals enrich and a lovely fuzzed up guitar solo, Devastation has a simple acoustic guitar and apologies for the basic English here but the “arrh, arrh, arrh, arrh” vocal had me from the start (just listen I am not doing it justice), would not have sounded out of place on any SFA best of.

Reach for the Keys has an almost choir chant like before the lead comes in  which reminds me of Terry Hall in his Fun Boy Three period and I mean that as a huge compliment and we end side one with Thermos which has space and one of those stop start riffs that has always got me. Thermos is only available on the physical copies and Bandcamp so I implore you to listen as Shaun ensured this was added to the record.

No Motivation just listen to Bunf’s guitar and the shimmering vocals from Richard. It has a glorious 60’s feel as does Aquarium, let them both flow and float over you.

Look Into My Eyes is a bit more futuristic with wonderful spoken word female vocals from Tabitha Bray and over synths and drums fluttering away in the background, the song is elevated when Bunf’s and Tabitha’s vocals come together.

This deserves so much more recognition than it got, and I thank Shaun for bringing it to my attention and hope you all give this special record a listen.

9/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Devastation (and if you are lucky enough to ever come across this record on Discogs I would urge you to buy it)