Swell Maps: … In “Jane From Occupied Europe” Vinyl LP Swell Maps

Jane From Occupied Europe is Brummie art punk crew Swell Maps’ second and final album. It takes the fomula outlined on A Trip To Marineville – ferocious punk jams punctuated with atmospheric passages – and pushes it even further into a dreamlike, kaleidoscopic sound world; almost Sgt. Peppers-esque, even. Steampipe drones bubble through Kevin Paul Godfrey’s (operating under the name Epic Soundtracks) unrelenting beats to set the stage on atmospheric opener “Robot Factory.” From there the lads launch into a string of end-of-days numbers turnt all the way up… Adrian Nicholas Godfrey’s (aka Nikki Sudden) submerged hollering barely cuts through “Border Country”’s chunky guitars, flying cymbals and abused piano strings. The riffs are so fucking thick on “Cake Shop Girl” that the synth lead just barely squeals through on the hook; one of the record’s most resonating moments. The centerpiece is an arch of instrumental jams, ranging from straight noise (“Mining Villages”) and ferocious noise rock (“Big Maz In The Desert”) to sleazy disco (“Collision With A Frogman”), dystopian funk (“Vs. The Mangrove Delta Plan”) and Jaco Pastorious on speed (“Big Empty Field”). Jane comes to her dreary conclusion with somber piano ballad “A Raincoat’s Room,” a fitting final chapter for a band that would burn out just as sensationally as they exploded onto the scene only three years prior. Originally released on Rough Trade in 1980, this nice reissue comes courtesy of Secretly Canadian (Marineville also available) with download code, recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• digital download included
• music label: Secretly Canadian 2012

reviewed by cake shop boi 06/2019