Sheffield gypsy-punk band La Folie riotously kick, spit, punch and gauge their way through debut album ‘Risus Sardonicus’. Ever taken a beating of the senses from a rowdy four-piece? Well, brace yourselves as your sail will be more treacherous than the decks of a Nordic trawler mid-storm. If however, you manage to stay onboard this music moster then you’ll experience their detail of depth, variation and credible song writing. Nick Robyn takes the form of many a beast; ‘The Incarnation Of Martin Allows’ sees him come at you like the rabid maniac Gogol Bordello, ‘Apples’ he morphs into a hybrid Kurt Cobain/ Craig Nicholls from the Vines type creature and ‘Svengalt’ has the rigid keys of The Doors while Robyn changes his tone to that of the iconic Morrison. With La Folie naming their album after a ‘sustained spasm of the facial muscles that appears to produce grinning’, it can only be thought that the grins exhibited are in awe at La Folie’s wondrous circus show that forms the backbone to this album.
Oh my, how the jealousy intensifies of the thought of missing Nirvana’s headline slot on the Friday night at Reading ‘92. But, as a mere spotty adolescent at the time, the chances were derisorily slim that the immeasurable impact they had that night would have had a significant premise in my think tank at that tender age. However, due to the release of this climatic DVD/CD combo, a joyous wa hey, yes indeed, wa hey is bellowed out! We get to relive Cobain at his most spasmodically enchanting, fronting the primal instigators of grunge music of the early 90s. The campsite that year was rife with rumours that year that Cobain was AWOL, rumours citing anything from an overdose, to marriage difficulties or that he was compelled to shun the show due to his displeasure of the limelight. That aside, the set was filled with mind-blowing grunge and sloppy indie-rock that came accustomed to Nirvana’s shows. Filled with most of ‘Nevermind’ and ‘Bleach’ their set was that of a greatest hits ensemble. The inclusion of bootleg gems ‘D7’ and ‘Spank Thru’ whetted the appetite further. But, nothing resonates as profoundly as their classic cuts, such as ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit, ‘Lithium’, ‘School’ and set closer ‘Territorial Pissings’. This showing came a year after ‘Nevermind’ an album that reset the aesthetics and expectations of modern pop music. And delivered Reading a Nirvana arguably at their artistic peak. Nirvana you live on in our hearts!
