If folktronica is John Martyn with electro bleeps and blips, that’s the way the album starts with ‘Hanged’. The next track, ‘Woodcat’ is a hint at their The Wicker Man soundtrack obsession. “All in for a lovely time.. Looking for a man to turn me into a hare,” adds to the sixties trip with Simon and Garfunkel harmonies and stuttering electronic goodness.

Leaving aside trying to work out what the lyrics are about, it’s just the overall sound that gets me. There’s some surreal stuff going with ‘Sweet William’, which is a moody string-backed number and there’s a fuller sound on ‘The Wind Up Bird’ with violins and mandolins.

Talking of weird, ‘Jenny Again’ is a strange love song and ‘Stories’ is ‘interupted’ by some spoken word clips which seem a little out of place but like Madvillian’s Madvillainy, these interruptions can become ‘friends’ on repeated listens.

Whilst we’re into the odd, there’s an Alice Coltrane harp intro to ‘Jay Down’ but as the vocals come in with a squeeze box solo, we end up dancing around the May Pole (not literally).

Current favourites are the more electronic ‘Red And Green’ with a deep bass and blips like a folktronic TroubleFunk go-go and the oddness of the last track ‘Engine Room’. The sea shell percussion and deep bass throb of the engine room is as good as any Daedelus remix.

Don’t eject the CD at this point as there’s a hidden bonus track 12 ‘in’ ‘Engine Room’ which is a little passé but that’s a small gripe. The usual Hectic gripe on the album sleeve does not apply here, there’s some sort of wood inlay triangle snake motif over some cartoon dance figures. It’s not all mother earth stuff as ‘It’s Because .. We’ve Got Hair’ is a little bit out there spacey.

If you’re not sure their strange world is for you, see if their hoodlumtribe mix touches you (see links below).

Following on from their recent appearance at the ‘rock’ equivalent of M3 at the South By South West Festival and the forthcoming gig at Cargo, they will also be appearing all over the place from the Triptych Festival in Scotland to the Bestival Festival on the Isle of Wight at the end of the summer. I think they’re a ‘must see’ this year.

Reviewed: Tunng - Comments Of The Inner Chorus (Full Time Hobby) Cat. No. Release Date: 22.05.06
1. Hanged
2. Woodcat
3. The Wind Up Bird
4. Red And Green
5. Stories
6. Jenny Again
7. Man In The Box
8. Jay Down
9. It’s because.. We’ve Got Hair
10. Sweet William
11. Engine Room
12. Bonus Track

Links:
www.tunng.co.uk
www.fulltimehobby.co.uk
Tunng - HoodlumtrIbe Mix (April 2005) “Tunng Present…. After producing one of the albums of the year so far! Tunng have provided hoodlumtribe with yet another world exclusive, a journry into their heads. Displaying some of the hidden influences on their outstanding album, listen out for some obscure oddities….. “

On Tour/Festivals
April
27th - Tunnels, Aberdeen [Triptych Festival with Buck 65]
29th - ABC2, Glasgow [Triptych Festival with Buck 65] 30th - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh[Triptych Festival with Buck 65]
May
3rd - Cargo, 83 Rivington St, London, EC2A 3AY [with Juana Molina and more tbc. Doors 7.30pm, tickets £8.50 Ticketweb and usual outlets]
6th - Harpers Bar, Hastings
11th - Playhouse, Leeds [FuseLeeds, with Adem and Vashti Bunyan]
18th-20th - Great Escape Festival, Brighton [date and venue tbc]
19th - The Point, Cardiff
July. 15th - Sonar Festival, Barcelona [Static Caravan showcase, with Inch-time and Static DJs]
August
4th-6th - Big Chill Festival Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire [date tbc]
11th-13th - Summer Sundae Festival, De Montfort Hall, Granville Road, Leicester, LE1 7RU [date tbc]
18th-20th - Green Man Festival, Glanusk Estate, Crickhowell, South Wales [date tbc]
September : 8th-10th - Bestival, Robin Hill, Downend, Isle of Wight [date tbc]

SXSW 2006 Showcasing Artists Thursday, March 16, The Velvet Spade (912 Red River St) “London-based Folktronica act, the brainchild of producer/guitarist Mike Lindsay and singer/guitarist Sam Genders. Released critically acclaimed debut album last year, and release their much-anticipated follow-up in 2006 on their new label Full Time Hobby. Expect acoustic meanderings, bleeps, samples and everything in-between all melted together into delightfully heartwarming songs”.