Pieces – Fake Tan

CD Track Listing:

1. Patty
2. Pork Chop Slim
3. Skinderella
4. Are You Being Served?
5. Sad Cat
6. Cry Baby
7. Man Hard
8. Rat Poison
9. I Don’t Know
10. VooZoo
11. I’m Not Mowgli I’m A Girl
12. Walnuts

Recorded:

Nikki  – Guitar, bass, drum machines, vocals, keyboards?
Tom  – Guitar, bass, drum machines, keyboards?

1995 – 2009 Flats in Edinburgh, Preston Pans, East Linton, Stow (Borders).

Reviews:

Fake Tan – Pieces – Is This Music?: 4/5
A rummage through the loft shows that as suspected, this East Lothian outfit did indeed feature on an is this music? CD some 5 years ago. That piece of detective work along with the album notes (I’d say ‘sleeve’ but since the release comes wrapped in a haggis pizza box with a ‘nonconforming goods’ stamp that might be pushing it a bit) tells us a bit about this album, though quite why it’s taken so long to put together is another matter.

Part of the delay may be the way the band work – “recorded on phone, 4 track… in boxrooms, attics… in Prestonpans, East Linton, Stow…” it’s quite a sonic jigsaw. To learn more about the mermerising opening track ‘Patty’ we find that “Niko” in Greece sent tracks recorded by his band’s drummer.

And so it goes. A largely instrumental album, we’re fooled by the dulcet, Naomi-esque whispered vocal from Nikki which proceeds in a dream-like state until in time-honoured post-rock fashion guitars and drums courtesy of Gasgiant’s Mic kick in.

And hopefully the band won’t mind the mention of post-rock here, but in fact there’s more to them than that. Short interludes like ‘Skinderella’ are simply lovely guitar instrumentals in any genre, while ‘Rat Poison’ is all cellos, a looming juggernaut of a tune that threatens to explode but never quite makes it, perhaps fooling us into whispering the ‘P’ word again.

Again the sleevenotes sum things up fairly well – “intro additional but too late” typical of the random nature of, well, everything about Pieces.

Fake Tan – Pieces – The List 3/5
The effort pumped into this release is phenomenal. It was recorded over an 11-year period on phones, mp3 players and computers, and Tom and Nikki Fraser’s love for the material is obvious. Pieces also comes uniquely packaged in the remnants of recycling rubbish and gaffer tape. The music contained within is by turns delicate and grand; lonely-yet-optimistic guitar lines are suddenly joined by swelling ebow sweeps and keyboard sound effects. This won’t be for everyone, though – the lack of vocals for the large part make it a challenging listen in places, and the album feels slightly unbalanced – six of the 12 tracks are over within two minutes, while three of them wander past seven.

Fake Tan – Pieces – iTunes:
‘uhh. what is this crap?!?’ by yodude5000.

Covers were individually made from rubbish left by students and others on  streets of Marchmont Edinburgh. I have about 40 cds or so left – you can buy one for £10.