Orange Clocks – Bubblewrap Crater And The Peacock Rocket

Orange Clocks – Bubblewrap Crater And The Peacock Rocket

A lot of you in this small pond we swim around in will be aware of a prog-adjacent band hailing from Rushden, Northamptonshire, England. Less of you will be aware that Rushden is a sleepy and somewhat neglected backwater of that East Midlands county, and makes the frayed-round-the-edges county town approximately 15 miles to the west look like New York in comparison. It’s the kind of town that isn’t on the way to anywhere, so it is unlikely that unless you already live there, or your mum lives in Higham Ferrers (don’t ask!), you have never been there. The fact that a band we all know from this very town formed in the first instance and became relatively well-known in our musical parish is bizarre enough, but they better look out, because hot on their spring heels are Orange Clocks, also from this obviously strange, local place.

The Fierce And The Dead (for it is they), as you probably know, recently expanded their horizons by adding vocals, and courtesy of Tom Hunt, keyboards and backing vocals. Why do I tell you that? Well, Tom is the leader of Orange Clocks. Is there room in Rushden for two bands, and will This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us be the theme tune as sonic attack battles rage at dawn outside The Rose & Crown?

Who knows, but what we do know is that with their third album Bubblewrap Crater and the Peacock Rocket, Orange Clocks have turned the warp factor up to eleven as their garishly hued space rocket zooms over the event horizon, leaving psychedelic fairy dust in its wake. And these fairies wear boots, o yes! Having recently watched the band perform a lot of this album live, I can attest that the energy that poured off that cramped stage in Northampton three months ago can certainly be felt in these zeros and ones.

As they describe themselves, “Orange Clocks create banging psychedelia in a magical and mystical corner of East Northants. Yes.” The ultimate example of Orange Clock’s Gong-with-dayglo DMs moonstompin’ is the wonderfully shoutalong Maggotbone , that nestles in the middle of the album ready to pounce on unsuspecting ears, and agitate your dancing feet with the insistent thumping of an over-excited clog-wearing spider running up and down your leg. Marvellous stuff!

The album opens with a slow burner entitled Volcano on the back of some spacey flute, before it lurches off on the back of a real heavy bass riff. Eventually the crater collapses in on itself in a perfect denouement. There’s all sorts of influences in this psychedelic stew, but they all meld into a swirling and colourful maelstrom of orangey goodness!

Since I reviewed their first album nearly eight years ago (!), the band have become far more focussed, and their driving energy blasts out of the speakers at one’s willingly compliant shell-likes, and fires your neurons in such a way that dancing seems almost inevitable. OK, I am sitting down typing this nonsense, but I am cutting several flying carpets in my head. 🙂

Good old rifferama is the failsafe here, but surprising interjections from synthesised strings, flute, and other weird noises, as well as tricksy syncopations and sundry musical derring-do keep it from ever getting repetitive. There’s a track on here called Bergerac, which is a short two and half-minute interlude after the manic propulsions of the freakin’ fabulous Maggotbone, where everything is s…l…o…w…e….d down, while remaining satisfyingly heavy. Some great plank spanking abounds. Is this named after the Brit TV detective, or the town in France? I like to imagine John Nettles piloting the TARDIS, but that’s just me.

Following that is Nebula, a jaunty orbit or three around a local planet, before we get to the album’s long ‘un, the thirteen-plus-minute spacewaltz that is Formulator. OK, it ain’t a waltz, but maybe a mini-symphony. The introductory syncopated theme gives way to some charming psychedelic space-wibble, before a riff emerges from the cosmic dust to take us on a rollercoaster ride to Dave Brock’s garden shed. Marvellous!

Yep, a fine album for all you space cadets out there. I must add that Orange Clocks are headlining a show at Northampton’s Black Prince pub on Saturday 11th January, and the venerable Wizards of Twiddly – East Northants Branch demand that you attend!

TRACK LISTING
01. Volcano (4:47)
02. Flowers and Fruit (4:15)
03. Monuments (4:44)
04. Beta (3:42)
05. Maggotbone (3:34)
06. Bergerac (2:37)
07. Nebula (4:50)
08. Formulator (13:13)
09. Space Witch (The Revisitation) (7:15)

Total Time – 51:00

MUSICIANS
Tom Hunt – Vocals, Synthesisers
Burn – Drums, Percussion
Dan Merrills – Guitar
Derek Cotter – Bass Guitar
Stuart Patterson – Guitar
Naomi Blackie – Flute, Vocals

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Independent
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 27th September 2024

LINKS
Orange Clocks – Facebook | Bandcamp