NIFTY-50

Colin Scott's DIY label Nifty-50 returns with a new batch of CDs. First we have the latest album from long-running underground outfit THE CONSPIRACY, entitled VI. This comes in two formats, one with slim card sleeve and one with wraparound insert in plastic wallet. This band have always prided themselves on their eclecticism and this new album continues to cover a broad ground, from the pulsing, juddering electronics of Digital/Janus I to the punk aggression of Glitch. Dungeness is a darkly atmospheric ode to Derek Jarman, refusing to limit itself to a single genre with its seamless combination of gothic, dreampop and psych elements. Rainbow Prism is a kind of post-punk psychedelia characterised by snaking guitar work. Spring is 80s-style indie pop beefed up with a spiky mod touch, the lyrics showing a Pagan awareness of nature which is rare for this kind of music. White Winter Coats is an inventive mix of off-kilter underground pop, spacey electronics and post-punk experimentation. A continually recommended band for musically open-minded listeners.

Nifty-50 have also reissued another of The Conspiracy's earlier albums, Predator; see this page for my review of the original release in issue 29.

Normally I can't stand hardcore punk, with its testosterone-fuelled aggression and ear-splitting noise, but THRONK's Aggressively Disappointing EP has an energy and sense of humour that kept me listening. There's six fast and furious tracks crammed into less than ten minutes, including the hilarious tribute to extra-hot Pot Noodles, Bombay Bad Boy, the darkly absurdist comedy of Brownies on Crack, and more melodic than the rest, their punked-up version of My Lovely Horse from the sitcom Father Ted, which really works in this style.

NIFTY-50 COMP is a CDR compilation with photocopied fanzine-style cover art that was produced in association with Positive Creed zine. It covers the punk side of Nifty-50, including the shouty aggression of Thronk, Dropping Like Flies, and Hurting Germs, and the punk-metal of The Mispelt. This noisier end of punk is somewhat outside my comfort zone as a rule, though the bands are good at what they do and I enjoyed some of this stuff more than I thought I would, especially Tear This Place Apart by long-established band Foreign Legion, a boisterous though catchy slice of melodic punk opening with a Celtic folk mandolin melody. Duncan Pope's eclectic bands The Conspiracy and Little Bohemia are most in line with my own tastes. Their tracks here have a punk spirit but take the genre into unexpected areas; The Conspiracy's Didactic features spoken and sung vocals over an inventive mix of spiky punk guitar, spacey electronics and proggy organ solos, while Little Bohemia's Tramadol brings together stomping glam-punk and parping brass. Positive Creed are on various social media platforms; contact them directly if interested in this one.

Check out the 'creamcropzinelabel' shop on ebay UK for The Conspiracy, Thronk, and other releases from Nifty-50, and visit the label's Facebook page for news.

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