Music / new releases
Bristol’s favourite masters of chaos unleash debut album
Experimental guitar trio Waldo’s Gift, known for their wild, intense and masterfully-crafted improvisations, released their full-length debut on Friday.
The trio has been celebrated all week on BBC 6 Music, where their Classic Waldi Anthem was named Near Future Track of the Week by Jamz Supernova.
The track is taken from the album Malcolm’s Law, a carefully-honed nine tracks of dynamic instrumental music that the band call ‘sizzling, maximalist, impossibly complex.’
is needed now More than ever
Each track was forged from one of their weekly improvised sessions at The Gallimaufry on Gloucester Road – where the band built a cult following off the back of their intense performances throughout 2017-2020 – and recorded live, without over-dubs.
“To sound like us is to be a sweaty, chaotic mess, on the precipice of falling apart. We’re all on the limit of what we can physically play, and that’s where the fun comes from,” said drummer James Vine.
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With a nod to UK jazz and shades of post-rock and prog-metal, the band say the album encompasses their many different elements: “The fun, party Waldi, the weird, dark, club Waldi, and the early sound referenced in Classic Waldi Anthem. If you came and saw us in 2018, first year of our career, chances are it’d sound like that.”
The record’s title is a tribute to an individual that started out as a fan of the band and became more of an inspiration.
“Malcolm is someone [guitarist] Alun (Elliot Williams) knows from when he lived in Southampton. He is probably late-60s, and he has quite a few health problems and mobility issues, but his attitude is so infectiously positive,” said Vine.
His antics include building a boat from scratch and nearly sinking it in the harbour, and booking Waldo’s Gift for a gig in a tiny pub in Southampton under an alias so – the trio discovered when they turned up – he could open for the band.
“We played to about five people – including Malcolm & his son,” Vine recounted. For the opening set: “His son was on drums, and Malcolm was on guitar, vocals and synths. The music he’s playing is fucking cool, but the most batshit, atonal music I’ve ever heard. He decides to face away from the crowd, and is teetering on the edge of the stage, and he’s so frail we’re worried he might genuinely die if he falls.
“Everything about it was so surreal, and so anxiety inducing, but the gig finished and nothing bad happened. Everything was fine. We got home and were like, ‘that’s Malcolm’s Law’ – so much shit happened, and so much shit has happened to this guy, but everything was cool at the end.”
The night gave the band clarity on how they viewed their own music. “There’s this teetering on the edge of chaos,” Vine smiles, “but it’s always fine.”
The artwork was produced by RUFFMERCY, a visual artist known for his work with Thom Yorke, Earl Sweatshirt and Chemical Brothers.
Much to their surprise, when scoping out possibilities the band discovered their love for the artist was mutual, and that he had in fact been a regular at their Gallimaufry residency.
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The album is out on Bristol-based Ishmael Ensemble’s label Severn Songs. Listen and purchase at waldosgift.bandcamp.com/album/malcolms-law
Waldo’s Gift are touring the album this spring, with their biggest hometown show to date at Trinity on February 28. Find details at www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/whats-on/the-trinity-centre/fri-28-feb-waldo-s-gift-116545#e116545
Main image: RUFFMERCY
Read next:
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- Get to Know: MĀDŁY
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