I’m Being Good with Infinite Chug

Johnny C has written briefly about Electrelane and I’m positive that at some point in the future Harry is going to gush about the new record from British Sea Power so I think it’s only right I post some words about my own favourite band from Brighton, UK. Although I haven’t lived there for going on six years, I still feel like my own musical awakening occurred when I was employed by an independent music rag on the south-east coast of England. Many of the bands I saw during these years have gone on to nationwide acclaim but some are yet to receive the attention they so richly deserve. Case in point, some incarnation of I’m Being Good has existed since 1991. Originally just comprised of guitarist and mastermind Andrew Clare with a drum machine, a rotating cast of characters has passed through the ranks over the years, taking in hundreds of shows, three incredible albums and umpteen appearances on various compilations. As well as I’m Being Good, Clare also runs the micro-label Infinite Chug and records experimental music under the name Pine Forest, as well as providing bright and imaginative artwork for all of the above.

There’s been a lot of press lately about certain British groups releasing free music online, seemingly oblivious to the fact that several other groups have been doing the same for years. Infinite Chug has half of their back catalogue available for download on their homepage. There are some excellent records available there and if you enjoy them at all, it would be appropriate to make a donation via PayPal. All of the albums hosted have full artwork to print and a high bit-rate. Personally, I think this might well be the way bands and labels will find themselves operating in the near future. Inviting donations rather than forcing people to buy from expensive online or high-street retailers looks to be an attractive alternative considering the prevalence of file-sharing. Since it is now well established that all but a handful of bands make their money from touring and merchandise sales, cutting out the middle-men (high-street megastores, major record labels) seems like a sensible solution. Rather than look at the internet as the death of commercial music, artists need to evolve their business model to accommodate the online market. One only needs to look at the popularity of free web-comics such as Achewood, Penny Arcade and indeed Questionable Content to see that there is still a viable solution for those prepared to put in the groundwork and establish a following. We should applaud Infinite Chug for having the foresight to be ahead of the curve in this area. Music is after all a labour of love, not an industry.

Available for download on the Infinite Chug site is the second album by I’m Being Good, entitled Sub Plot. The fact that this classic album is available for free is both admirable and borderline criminal. I am struggling to think of a British rock album I have enjoyed more in the past decade. For argument’s sake, let’s just go ahead and assume there isn’t one. If anyone actually went to the trouble of investigating Polvo or US Maple, Sub Plot will be a strikingly familiar and welcome addition to any playlist. Sounding more like a by-product of Kentucky or Illinois than Brighton, I’m Being Good storm through six of the creepiest, most atmospheric rock’n’roll songs these fair isles have ever produced. The laconically-paced ‘Angels on our Shoulders’ could be a long-lost outtake from Slint’s Spiderland with an emphasis on low grooves, piercing needlework riffs and some appropriately ominous vocals from Clare. “We heard a Nordic death-threat”, croons Clare from amidst the gloom. ‘Kill Him with War Savings’ is a furious blast of white heat, immediately doused by the abjectly menacing ‘Joust’. A steady pulse builds into a throbbing, bulging mess of snare fuzz, alternate tunings and frantically bipolar yelling. The olde world narrative is ultimately fixated by an unshakeable sense of hubris which seems to enrapture and dominate the whole album. The following ‘He Has Unborn Eyes on Long Tinsel Stalks’ moves from desperation to hysteria across eight unbearably tense minutes, via an unlikely Joe Jackson pastiche. ‘Silent Spring’ could well be the most paranoia inducing song ever cut to tape. After five minutes one could be forgiven for believing that not only does Clare know where you live, he’s literally going to be arriving at your door with a length of rope, a modified car battery and a vicious looking tenon saw. The epic closer ‘Solar System of Blood’ is basement-level dub punctuated by swelling tides of distortion and a clattering percussive assault for a chaser.

The eventual sequel to Sub Plot entitled Family Snaps is available for purchase on the Johnson Family website. You can also hear some of the demos I’m Being Good made in between these two records on the catch-all Spares and Repairs series available on the Infinite Chug site. If you are even remotely interested in ambient or avant garde music, you could do a lot worse than taking advantage of the other free downloads available there. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what astonishingly minimalist free jazz would sound like played by a standard rock trio (and who hasn’t?!) then look into Small Things’ Pregnant Longer than Humans. Spoiler – It sounds pretty much like Sun City Girls but as any sane person will tell you there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Andrew Clare has also recorded some beautiful music with a host of collaborators under the name Pine Forest. Some highlights from the Infinite Chug website include Rendered Oysterless, a sublime guitar duet set to boiling water and rainfall. In fairness it only sounds ridiculous until you actually hear it, whereupon it is literally impossible not to feel moved by the gentle splendour of the piece. Equally inspiring is Faceless Nativity, a brooding and hypnotic composition performed solely on xylophone and grand piano. Andrew Clare’s Crap Hologram is a mind-melting barrage of clashing instrumentation, which occasionally sounds like a guitar hitting every single note simultaneously over several minutes. You can also print full size CD trays to accompany these downloads so you can give the complete article away to loved ones. That’s everyone’s birthday presents sorted for the foreseeable future then.

Tommy Dski