Tropical Fuck Storm: Fairyland Codex
(Fire)
LP | CD | DL
Out now
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Tropical Fuck Storm return with album number four; a twisted trip down the yellow brick road to tear down the curtain of this live dystopia.
If the whole world is a stage, then we are in the midst of a hellish adaptation of our own world. The fourth wall broken, we are screaming in a theatre, a spectacle unfolding before our very eyes, one we feel powerless to stop as we are strong-armed into believing that this, this, is our only path. As Tropical Fuck Storm put it, over a pulsating modulated bassline, on Goon Show:
‘Cause if they lose they winAnd all they need’s the windThat blows where people wave their flags at people waving flags
And that there is the crux. “The golden age of arseholes, the triumph of disgrace.“, they state. That is exactly where we are. Drape yourself in the flags of the oppressors and scream oppression as the weight of collective consciousness, no, collective conscience shifts against you. The barrage morphs as the chorus mounts to a plea to be held, soothed, protected from what falls around us. This world is a nightmare and, over five minutes, Tropical Fuck Storm hold a cracked mirror up to it. There are very few who have put it so succinctly, so artfully, so gracefully as this.
But there is still hope. A feeling that we will be seen, will be heard, and it follows straight away on the sublimely beautiful Stepping On A Rake. A gently plucked guitar reverberates over sparse drums as lyrics sing of finding a light. “I’m still your island when you’re washed away.” Hearts crack at the soft force that rings through, the song trembling from within. With these two tracks, sitting side by side early on Fairyland Codex, the band show that they are navigating the modern maelstrom, where nothing really feels new, as we tread the capitalist warmongers’ paths, searching for companionship, recognition, and dreams in the eyes of those we pass.
However, what sets the album apart from their past records is how they have taken their foot off the accelerator somewhat, allowing their already gained momentum to carry them. Many of the songs lope along, taking their time to cast their critical eyes around instead of attempting to shatter the system. That said, there is still an element of chaos in the way the songs build, the band’s art-punk side still very much coming through. Joe Meek Will Inherit The Earth reflects perfectly this shift. A sidewinder rhythm snakes along, short riffs and motifs jutting out, a feeling of disquiet slowly building until it leads into the fantastic Bye Bye Snake Eyes. With its pure ’60s psych sound, the song drifts on subtle waves that gently lap the shore. But that is not to say that they have completely left behind their more visceral side.
Dunning Kruger’s Loser Cruiser, a song that would make Tom Waits proud, judders with their art-punk battering as the band spit and rage more, taking aim at the technofuedalist world now engulfing us.
I ain’t no techno feudal poodle
No rebel with no clue
I’d rather run into a brick wall than all of you
Yeah, I want a private life
And, as the album crashes to a close with Moscovium, the chaos finally well and truly freed, one word rings out to remind us who is running the show. Murderers.
Across the album, the band’s DIY approach, creating sonic tapestries that depict the dystopian world through which we sleepwalk, while still, occasionally, offering us a glimmer of hope that we can come out the other side, has resulted in a shift in focus that proves just what we already knew. There is no background music here, no distraction, no second screen scrolling. Fairyland Codex is a journey, an album that demands attention from start to finish. Every song is its own delight, a different flavour from the rest, while still combining to create a coherent whole, every listen revealing another layer, another line, another path.
Tropical Fuck Storm are on tour through Europe in August.
21 Aug: Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao, Spain
23 Aug: Canela Party, Torremolinos, Spain
27 Aug: MON Live, Madrid, Spain
28 Aug: Apolo 2, Barcelona, Spain
28-31 Aug: End Of The Road Festival, Salisbury, UK
30 Aug: Manchester Psych Festival, Manchester, UK
02 Sep: Electric Ballroom, London, UK
04 Sep: Reflektor, Liege, Belgium
Official website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
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Words by Nathan Whittle. Find his Louder Than War archive here.
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