When you're 13 years old living in Solihull, England, is there anything better to do than form a band? Never mind your musical acumen-- what else would you do? This is how Swell Maps formed in 1972: six kids in their early teens calling themselves Sacred Mushroom and fancying themselves a band-- in spite of the fact that they never gigged or recorded until 1977, after punk broke and they realized they could get studio time. Even then, Swell Maps were anything but a conventional band. They were officially a sextet but they recorded with whomever happened to be in the studio at the moment. Jowe Head is out to the sandwich shop? Well, he'll hear it when he gets back. If he returns and discovers that a bassline already exists for "Midget Submarine", he can merely pick up a vacuum cleaner and play that instead.
Of course, we're also talking about a band that didn't bother rehearsing, began writing their own songs because they couldn't play anyone else's, thought prog and punk were equally great in 1978, and cited Gerry Anderson's television puppet shows "Thunderbirds" and "Stingray" as equal influences to Can and T. Rex. They recorded a huge amount of material between 1977 and 1980, but only released two proper albums and a handful of maxi singles in their time together-- out of a sense of obligation, they actually finished recording their second LP after they had broken up.
Considering their strange story, it's hardly a wonder that the two albums Swell Maps cut are as weird and wonderful as they are. The two records-- 1979's A Trip to Marineville (the title was taken from an episode of "Stingray") and 1980's Jane From Occupied Europe-- are nothing if not consistent. In the case of Swell Maps, that means consistently manic, unfocused, chaotic, uniquely unprofessional, and quite charming. There aren't any other records from the post-punk era that sound quite like these-- Television Personalities' And Don't the Kids Just Love it comes close for cheekiness, but doesn't match them sonically-- and the reckless abandon and spontaneity of the band and producer John Rivers shines brightly and brilliantly on these remasters. Not that hi-fi sound was ever central to the Swell Maps experience, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Separating the albums contextually, one could say that Marineville is more song-oriented and Jane is more jam-centered. That's correct, to a point. The fact is that both albums veer erratically from bursts of eccentric punk and (probably inebriated) harmony vocals into nightmarish noise concoctions, offering catchy psych-punk nuggets almost as an excuse for the improvised scrapings that surround them. Principle vocalist Nikki Sudden sounds like he thinks the band could have a hit on the relatively accessible and melodic "Another Song" and "Spitfire Parade", but the band also veer far into leftfield on squalls of loosely sculptured sound such as "Adventuring into Basketry" and "Big Maz in the Desert".
Really, it's a lot to take in-- the band don't even seem to realize the havoc that their meandering Can/surf/industrial/found object instrumentals and jarring sequencing can visit upon the listener, so it's best to just sit back and take it all in stride. What sounds like a mess when you think too much about it reveals its own internal logic when you let the charm of Epic Soundtracks' wild drum fills and the band's drinking-song harmonies work their magic. There are also surprising moments of beauty, like the strangely poignant piano piece "Don't Throw Ashtrays at Me!", which features the recorded mutterings of band members, or the haunting "Trans-Europe Express" synth line that rises out of nowhere in the droning punk song "Cake Shop Girl".
But by all means, if you have any interest in the original post-punk era, do take it all in, because Swell Maps were one of the most unique pieces of Britain's great late-70s musical puzzle. These albums have never been particularly easy to procure stateside, so it's nice to finally have them in wide circulation, even if Secretly Canadian wound up including fewer bonus tracks than most of the overseas reissues (they've sort of made up for this by including newly conceived Quicktime videos for "Midget Submarine" and non-LP track "Let's Build a Car"). It's a shame the band stopped when they did, but what little they left behind is one hell of an enjoyable legacy.
