EP Review
Precogs
The Lighthouse
DL
Out today, 19 April 2024
Half Edge Records is the slimmed-down successor to German Shepherd Records. Home to many a Greater Manchester oddball creative musician making underground music. Precogs are veterans who have worked together in the past and have connections with the groups Calvin Party, Harveys Rabbit / The Harveys, The Sandells, and Gone to Earth. Strange and interesting stuff, says Ged Babey.
Precogs is a cool name. A bit old-school sci-fi and reminiscent of Mark E Smiths label Cog Sinister. But is there anything dark and creepy about Precogs?
Just watch the video for the lead track first – and make up your own mind.
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That is weird. The strained vocal juxtaposed against musical backing and the visuals flipping from panoramic to internal anguish… Great guitar sounds.
THE LIGHTHOUSE – Pertains to paranoia, interpersonal relations and existential experience of the world, it storms forward towards… something!
I asked Tim from the band about the video -was that filmed especially or ‘found footage’?
Have you seen the film…Possession by Żuławski? It’s a cult film from 1980, one of my favourite films, absolute classic. The whole film is a metaphor for the evil of the Berlin Wall.
He told me the label were wary of putting it online. Putting ‘Contains elements of… No copyright infringement intended and will be removed upon copyright holder’s request’, should cover it I told him. It’s an interesting music video – and now I want to seek out the film as well. It’ll be online somewhere I expect.
Precogs are Tim Lyons and David Thom. They are based in Salford and Manchester. Tim is the vocalist and David plays guitars, bass, percussion, cello, and strings. They are/were in The Harveys who we featured recently.
In July 2010 David and Tim began formulating what eventually became ‘Precogs’ named after an idea in one of Philip K Dicks novels ‘people who see things differently, people who see things before they happen!
Their first release is called The Lighthouse EP which consists of three new songs and an instrumental version of the title track.
TOO FAR AWAY – Warped swamp music that evokes a dream of John Fogerty, Eddie Cochran, The Cramps and Elvis who is having a conversation with a drunken Bob Dylan about freedom in an alternative reality!
CHARMED – A charming song that hints at things people do and don’t ! Seems to examine social habits and self indulgence maybe? While the World crumbles.
It is Charmed and the instrumental version of The Lighthouse which I prefer – and establish Precogs sound as (Englishmen who want to create their own) Television type music for smart kids. Add a bit of Devoto lyrical inscrutability and a fondness for Ry Cooders guitar.
The Lighthouse is one of those EP’s the more you listen to it, the more you realise that there is something dark and something cool going on here, and you start to yearn for a full length album – a whole original soundtrack to your nightmares and daydreams.
All words Ged Babey with press release quotes in italics.
Cover Art by Enrico Bretzke.
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