Harry Cloud insisted and I kept my promise.
Here’s my review of ”The Pig And The Machine”
Harry Cloud is a multifaceted artist, there’s no doubt about this.
The opening track ”Fantasia”, when I first heard it, made me think about The Cure and the music that opened the gigs of their Wish tour, majestic and monumental, the start of an odissey. Is ”The Pig And The Machine” a concept album?
No, probably it is not, the second track ”Momo Island” is the first turn. The chorus ”I saw and alligator through the window to beach / Rock steady leaves / I’m ready to rock” makes your mind change immediately and you think you are in a theatre watching a musical.
But the pig makes its appearance on track three so maybe your guess about this being a concept album was right.
”School” and ”Pink Custard Pie” are indie rock tunes, they made me think about Flaming Lips on first listening but now after several listenings, I can say these are pure Harry Cloud gems, ghaving all the typical characteristics of a Harry Cloud tune.
”Asexual Bunnyrabbit” is my favorite tune, the one that always needs a second and eventually a third listening every time, the one that I play loud, very loud. The vocals here are perfect, crystalline, convincing and so rich in pathos that at the end of the song you hate that bunnyrabbit and you want to kill him. There is something satanic about this song.
I can imagine Harry Cloud’s frontman set himself on fire or do stage diving while performing ”Brain” in a stadium full of mad fans.
The sensation is that Harry Cloud can arrive everywhere with his voice, Harry Cloud is a multiform creature or a collective of different individuals. One, noone and a thousand others, like an experienced dubber, Harry Cloud vocals are differnt from one song to the other. ”Haunted Hayride” is my favorite one of the whole collection of songs, it plays in the final with ”Asexual Bunnyrabit”
”Bowser” is a punk song. It is like you are listening to your favorite radio show and the selection of the radio host ranges across all kind of rock genres.
Once I got a demo tape by a death metal band called Necromicon, from Bari?, not sure, I remember there were some instrumental parts that were monumental, almost classic music, the best parts of that tape, ”Voorhees” is not a death metal song, but there is something equally monumental in this song.
The title track ”The Pig and The Machine” is also the final track of the album and one of the best too.
Other possible comparisons? Danielson Famile needing an exorcism, Built To Spill and Motorpsycho? But guys, really, Harry Cloud songs are unique and recognizable, and you can trust me since I have listened to a good deal of them and released some on my record label too.
The packaging and art design, by Ian Piirtola, are also really cool. A gatefold cover featuring a drunken Santa Claus, a small robot, a pig, views of Venezia. Really beautiful. 2x180gr solid blue vinyl records.
