Sock Free Hideaway

BEATS OF LOVE

70. Cold Blooded Love by Thee Hypnotics

READING GEORGE Orwell's Diaries have been illuminating. 

Other than more cleanliness, the conditions that bind today's society are pretty much unchanged. The false dominant narratives propagated by the right wing press still cut through, and wage slavery is still the norm. What surprises is the man behind the persona. A man who passionately loves gardening. A man we wouldn't know existed had he lived to write his autobiography and burn his diaries. 

He hated the artifice of mass-consumerism but nurtured a public image to sell on to the public. It's nigh on impossible not to. We all do, especially folk in bands or folk influenced by them like me. Thee Hypnotics were a tight rock act who I caught live twice but who fetishized Iggy and the MC5 to the point that their public image appeared a bit retro and naff. In 1991, John Leckie, fresh from being scarred working on Lawrence's magnum opus, produced their second studio album. Not that I knew it at the time. Singer Jim Jones told Shindig : 

"In the past, I’d said to people, ‘You know that BIG Phil Spector reverb… well….’ and they’d give you a tiny bit. When I said this to John he swamped the album in it…. woahhhh. He’s a proper producer.”

Forgiving bands a retro or naff public image and instead evaluating the music as a separate entity gets to the essence of what Balearic Beat is all about. Leaving no stone unturned to unearth woozy music with warmth. Music a bit like this. 

Ignore the title and get lost in the earthy organ, then let those seductive slide guitar motifs work their magic. There's even a female backing singer low down in the narcotic mix too. It feels pretty epic, but in truth isn't all that long, and marks a quantum leap for a band hitherto related to the word lounging. 

Other than more cleanliness, the conditions that bind society since the 1930s are pretty much unchanged. However, this deeper reading of rock'n'roll that owes a massive debt to jazz and the Velvets, in equal measure, is a magnificent way to kill time in the 21st century.