Music for Dancing and Dining – Blindhead (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

With a title that offers two possible listening scenarios: as a soundtrack to a bit of a groove or as background music whilst eating, I would have to say that the music would be most suitable in the former situation. Unless you are a fan of less sedate dinner parties, in which case it would fit right in.

But the title does reflect the album’s eclectic and changeable nature, suggesting that it is neither one thing nor another, that the songs found here don’t easily fit into one definable place or that they can easily be tagged with any consistent sound or style.

What they do have in common is a sort of upbeat groove, and you would have to say that they also sit in a broad rock soundscape, although one that is flavoured with all manner of other genres. But then again, all the best music is the product of such mixing and matching, genre-hopping, and demarcation creeping. 

So, if Alphabet Man, which kicks things off, is a joyous pop-punk riotous array of groove and buoyancy, Stowaway leans more into intricate, coiled, bluesy rock sounds. And then there are songs such as The Fisherman, which runs on a funky rhythm with flute playing that evokes some very seventies vibes and a psychedelic guitar frenzy throughout. It is as mercurial as it is unexpected, as strange (and I mean that in the most complimentary sense) as it is unique.

We get a dexterous and delicate folk instrumental with We Were All Once Children, sax-fuelled psychedelic blues of the sort that the likes of 13th Floor elevators would have been proud of with Suitcase Blues and some spoken word funk-soul thanks to Time To Go. And if you like a bit of psycho-billy, cow-punk, then there is even room for that in the form of Pirate Song.

It’s an eclectic album, but there is a sort of consistency about it too. The thing that holds all these different styles and disparate sounds together is their collective sense of adventure. Music For Dancing and Dining is the sound of an artist testing boundaries – their own, those of the broad rock genre and fashion. Boundaries always need to be tested; to not do so is to merely tread sonic water, do more of the same, and rehash the same past glories, and they are called past glories for good reason.

Why aim for past glories when you can strive to write future classics? Not doing so is why tribute bands and artists like Ed Sheeran are so popular; we don’t need more of that. Do we? And even if Blindhead don’t attain classic status, at least they are keeping the musical landscape interesting. Very interesting indeed.