Grumbling Fur
Preternaturals
11 August 2014
The Quietus Phonographic Corporation
4 stars out of 5
The English duo Grumbling Fur consists of multi-instrumentalist
Daniel O’Sullivan and singer-songwriter Alexander Tucker. O’Sullivan has a
variety of musical projects going on, including art-rock group Guapo,
experimental metal band Sunn O))), Norwegian weirdoes Ulver, and the synth-pop
duo Miracle (with Steve Moore from Zombi). Grumbling Fur comes across as David
Gahan fronting a Brian Eno experimental electronica project, and Preternaturals is the duo’s third album
together.
While O’Sullivan and Tucker engage in a lot of sonic
textural doodlings, most of these are subtle and operate at the service of the
vocals. Sometimes the music is punctuated by acoustic guitar and cello, as on “Mister
Skeleton,” a song which with a few production tweeks could easily be from some
early ‘70s psychedelic record. “Pluriforms” most resembles Depeche Mode, both
in vocal style and melody. Interspersed amongst the proper songs are three
short instrumental pieces in which the duo explore more freeform possibilities.
For an LP that clocks in at barely more than half an hour
and contains only six proper songs, Preternaturals
feels surprisingly like a full album experience. While it is experimental it is
focused and never aimless. O’Sullivan and Tucker continue to entertain and
inform with their excursion into psychedelic electronica.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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