Invisible College - Mr BC (tici taci)

 

Title: Invisible College

Artist: Mr. BC

Label: tici taci

Cat Number: ticitaci067

Genre: Cross Pollinated Disco Deployment

1: Shabash

2: Sleeping Demon

3: Chutzpah

4: Yen Again

5: Brandolini’s Law

6: Pronghorn

7: Lydian Stingray

8: The Invisible College

9: 313 BC

10: In A Rut

As might be expected, Mr. BC’s debut long player for tici taci stays close to the label’s signature sound. The tracks therein artfully mix a variety of styles: notably Italo, low slung bass driven rock often coupled with the jangle of guitars acid, and an overriding cinematic sense of the idea that it’s on the dance floor where we can best appreciate such sonic gymnastics. The bpms also chug at a pace which allows for more reflective and expressive shape throwing.  This is relevant because this is obviously a piece of work that came together over the last 12 months and might not have been properly road tested yet, whatever the intentions of the brains behind it. In any case, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t pass anything thrown at it with flying colours. And I don’t think it loses any of its power simply because I’ve been listening to it sauntering down the aisles of Aldi as opposed to anywhere possibly more appropriate. Is it an album or a collection of tracks is the rhetorical question with considerable mileage in such a context. What is clear is that there is a range of musical dexterity on show, the like of which can only be the result of masterful manipulation by the artist in question. ‘Shabash’ and ‘Sleeping Demon’ are amongst the more driving compositions and kick things off with gusto. ‘Chutzpah’ and ‘Yen Again’ are synthetic disco nirvana and subtle funk minimalism respectively. ‘Pronghorn’ has a post-punk gothic underbelly, ‘313 BC’ is understated acid of the best sort, while ‘In A Rut’ builds on its predecessor’s spaced out textures by protracting the pervasive vibe. My favourite track at the moment though, is ‘Lydian Stingray’, which carries within it such an eighties disco pervasion that I’m really not sure what decade it is anymore. This is, in short, a great piece of work that, were it cross sectioned, would render visible more sonic and stylistic intersections than have actually existed over the last 40 years.