Song, by Toad

Gentler than many it may be, but this is definitely cut from the same circus folk cloth in which I have been snugly wrapping myself these last few years. For all they may never quite reach the barmy heights of Quasar Wut-Wut or Uncle Moon, they are treading a similar path, albeit at a slightly more leisurely pace.

I believe I have one half of Drunk Country and his radio burblings to thank for introducing me to these characters and grateful I am too, because this is a splendid, splendid record. They do get stuck in at times, and lead female vocalist Sammy Tunis’ nasal yell reminds me more than a little of the splendid Ice Cream Socialists when she starts to raise her voice, and the music itself is also in the same basic ballpark.

As befits the ramshackle style of music, the subject matter of the songs can be downright eccentric as well. On chaos theory: ‘That’s just the way snowflakes work/ they’re never exactly the same/ but they’re never anything but snowflakes.” To lump this lot in with the manic carnival clatter of other bands in this general territory would be wrong however, as there is more than the usual amount of wistful romanticism to The Lisps, and the sound is just a little less bombastic than the likes of say, Man Man, with whom you might be forgiven for grouping them.

So that’s the mechanics of the thing. Do I love this album though, really? Well yes I think I might. I might even go so far as to say that it’s brilliant. It isn’t overhwhelming though, which is odd. It never blew me away for a second, and even now that I have slowly recognised its brilliance it is in a respectful acknowledgement sort of a way, not an OMFG!!!1! sort of way.

But in honour of the recently departed Valentine’s Wasteoffuckingtime Day, it is worth noting that Destiny is one of the finest and most touching anti-love songs I have heard in bloody ages. Buy, and enjoy, people.

The Lisps – Destiny
The Lisps – Ann Marie
The Lisps – Chaos

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