This is the sixth album for the Brighton-based band of Lisa Jayne and Andy Pyne, and is a collection of tracks they have been piecing together between 2021-2022 and features nine songs.
The synth sequencer keeps things moving with a certain math rock type of precision. “Stripes” feels more punky by comparison, its deep bass throb and drums making you think of Cut-era Slits and feels like the perfect thing to dance to in a sweaty club, especially when they roll around and break up the tight rhythm which is the heart of the piece.
“Hey Shungite” has the atonal special synth sounds that would have made Japan take notice back in the day. Karlheinz Stockhausen-style electronics covered in almost spoken word vocals make the track feel as if it has a slight Throbbing Gristle industrial construction. Tribal percussion introduces “Corn Dolly Crosshatch”, which again pursues a deep throb bass. Scattering synth adds notes over the top, while vocals drift between speakers in a strange, almost trance-like way, adding a certain ambience to the piece and a little touch of Lee “Scratch” Perry as well. “The Trickster” has a big powerful synth riff over a fast drum pattern and the kind of singing that would not be out of place on a Back To The Planet album. This feels like a wonderfully crazy disjointed track that would have people leaping around at a free festival; it’s out there, but also feels a little confrontational. “Full Body Ghost” has an odd DX-7-type synth sound, with lyrics that conjure up an almost Weimar nightclub atmosphere. Synth notes tumble around, giving the song a strange feeling where there are disturbing things hiding in the shadows.“Vixy Arcana” has a drum pattern that would have made Dave Barbarosa from Bow Wow Wow envious. Again, the synth is punched out in a post-punk way, adding a brittle sense of urgency to Lisa’s vocals as they tumble down over the music. “Aerial Eyes” is much more in tune with a lot of the new synth bands like Nation Of Language, bring a fairly poppy element to proceedings, its melodic chord sequence feeling subtle enough to let the other instruments breathe life behind the vocals.
“Mandrake Sutra” starts with chanting vocals giving us an om over which the instruments slowly build and what seems like ritual percussion being used as well as hanging garden chord sequences. There is part of this that reminds me of some of Jon Hassell’s work and that’s no bad thing, a blending of jazz, world music and electronic elements that bring the album to a startling close, the haunted vocals still ringing in your ears and mind’s eye.Blood Fruit is a stunning and diverse release from Map 71 that breaks down a few barriers with a cornucopia of various musical elements pulled together to make a cohesive whole. It makes you wonder where the band might travel to next.
-Gary Parsons-
