Music

Domino’s indie stars called Alex (Messrs Kapranos and Turner) might cast an impressive shadow over the rest of Laurence Bell’s roster but that suits the Archie Bronson Outfit  fine. It’s in these dark  fringes that their swampy, krautrock-infused blues is hewn. But, inspired by Franz and the Monkeys, it seems that now even they want to make the kids dance.

The follow-up to 2003’s acclaimed debut ‘Fur’, ‘Derdang Derdang’ is a giant stride forward that sees their roiling backwoods rawk given a groovesome kick. Their fuzzed, moonshine-sodden blues riffs have mutated into something more propulsive, lean and hypnotic. At times it’s reminiscent of punk-funkers The Rapture had they been abandoned in the Mississippi Delta (‘Dead Funny’) or an enraged, sexier Spacemen 3. It’s a breathless return that proves that these West Country boys are as accomplished as they are odd. Shrieking, Clinic-styled chants ring out alongside droning, ethereal space-rock (‘Cuckoo’), anguished howls and ominous, Stooges-like intros.

Such are the primal sounds on display, one wonders what became of the plastic goose they used to bring onstage. My guess is that it was sacrificed during the making of this magnificently evil record.