The bayan is a type of accordion named after an 11th-century Russian bard. I had to look that up, just as I had to look up the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal when I reviewed ‘Edinburgh’ – the previous single by folk droners Middle Class Guilt. Said Czech provides the title for the band’s second album, Their King of Comedy, out on Etna Records on 8th May. A UK tour to promote the album will run from 7th – 16th May (details to be announced soon).
The first half of new single ‘The Golden Tiger’ is inspired by the traditional music of Shetland, from whence two thirds of the band originate. I would never have guessed – it lollops merrily along like Richard Ashcroft harbouring a winning scratch card instead of a desire to knock people over like skittles. We are told via the lyrics that a complex “can ruin your day” – a message delivered with the joyful tone of a milkman’s hello.
The second half is a “dread ballad” featuring the aforementioned Russian-named instrument and lyrics that “engage in a one-sided conversation with Bohumil Hrabal’s ‘All My Cats’.” If all this sounds as mad as a cat wearing a hat in a vat on a mat, that’s because it is. To describe Middle Class Guilt as off-kilter would be to suggest that the band are within the proximity of balance and normality. The truth is much more interesting.
‘The Golden Tiger’ is out now via Bandcamp
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Review by Neil Laurenson
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