I enjoy being contacted by artists offering something rather different, and this definitely applies to the wonderfully named The Exotic Ices Project formed by Ruby Jones and Patrick Spillane following the demise of their former band, Big Rooster Jeff. In December, they released debut work, Sunshine Desserts whose name, perhaps not intentionally on the part of the duo, takes me to that classic Leonard Rossiter comedy, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. You can take a listen and consider parting with your hard earned at their Bandcamp page https://theexoticicesproject.bandcamp.com/album/sunshine-desserts
What I like about this album is that it defies those of us who write about such things attempting to categorise it. I suppose the nearest (albeit not entirely satisfying) descriptor you could apply is the one they use themselves, namely “progressive pop”, and I certainly have a track record of appreciating the commercial or “popular” (a word which has been much abused over the decades) end of the prog spectrum.
The music is performed by Jones on keyboards, vocals, guitars, and bass. Spillane provides us with drums, backing vocals, and lead vocals on Mr. Bitches. Jones handles the production duties, and I might add that she has an interesting YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@rubyjones01 This includes an entire run through of this album.
So, eight pieces of music to discuss. Let’s go for it!
The album commences with Swanario, the piano setting the scene perfectly before a drum roll introduces us to a playful piece of music which fair races along, parts of it having you imagining a certain Mr Emerson stomping along at the side of the stage, so the band early on show their progressive chops.
It is followed by Disciple where we get the first of the vocals, which immediately strike you as having a post punk indie vibe, although behind the words, the keyboards portray a more pastoral sense alongside a gentle drum rhythm. The guitar solo is a good one and the beat picks up nicely in a track bursting with energy.
Gender Bender is a song title which is pretty much perfect for our age, with the media seemingly obsessed with the so-called “culture wars”, always willingly egged on by rent a gob politicians. It is the longest track on the album, weighing in at just over five minutes. There is a harsher tone to this song, with lyrics that are deeply reflective and emphasising the essential personal choice. I like the distorted guitar-led passage three minutes in and there is a darkly funky feeling to the music throughout.
Please Don’t Call is up next. This is so well produced, with the angry chords floating between the ears, and the drums conveying urgency in a track which recalls The Stranglers back in the day, no bad thing at all. It is embedded below, a track which grows with each listen and deserves some wider airplay. The closing passage swirling keyboards are very good.
Mr Bitches, as mentioned above, features Spillane on lead voice. His drum work is very good leading a track which is perhaps a wee bit too “rappy” for this listener’s tastes as it starts, but as it morphs into something that the likes of Squeeze would have produced, I relax and enjoy a fun piece with some very strong gothic keyboards and a distinctly harsh guitar riff. It is certainly rather different, and it is embedded below for you. “What a bitch!”
Perception follows. This is a fine electronic operatic pop piece of music, with some gorgeously funky guitar chords embedded throughout. Its heart is in the 1980’s, is deeply personal in how we wish to see the protagonist, but how that perception is received behind the wall. I think it is brilliant, a cry for us all to respect the individual, not the stereotype. It is also embedded below for you.
Cold Machine brings with it the spirit of Northern independent rock with some decent vocal harmonies set within a deliberately artificial intelligence feel to the stark keyboards and the frenetic drums underpinning it all in a track which reminds me a bit of Soft Cell mixed with John Foxx (yes, for those of us old enough to recall those heady days, a perfectly possible combination).
The album closes with Etched in the Sand, the sound of the sea kissing the beach and a loving keyboard melody bringing to mind days away of our youth. This is my favourite track on the album. It brings a warm, affectionate vibe, has a great guitar line, and is full of memory.
Mine is an eclectic website, reflecting, I believe, the wide-ranging tastes of intelligent music lovers. Sunshine Desserts is an interesting debut album which fits perfectly within the website’s overarching mission, and is the type of quirky art pop/rock which is held in affection by those of us who enjoyed evenings in back in the day watching such stuff on Old Grey Whistle Test. I for one am interested in how this project develops.