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I bumped into Mr. Servini the other day who was a little excited about the new Talc 12”, so I asked him, what is this one all about? ‘Garden Of Dance’ is Talc’s ode to all things horticultural. It is blue-eyed BBQ disco/funk with the usual Talc twist on the lyrical front. For example, “In the garden, so much fun — like being inside, but much, much bigger… It’s just like being in a massive boat, without the water, or the boat,” is another favourite. It should, by rights, become a tipsy soul anthem for the summer.

But is it their aim to make us laugh or just a side product of their vision? “Their first aim is to make quality smooth music, in the style of Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Hall & Oates et al but borrowing a little Beach Boy harmony and the savage wit of Ray Davies. They’ve been told they sound like The Scissor Sisters at times (!) and to me, the comedic part of their act is no more unusual than what Lilly Allen, Gnarls Barkley and co are up to. They write amusing lyrics and lark about on stage because they’re genuinely funny people.”

‘Garden Of Dance’ is the follow up to Talc’s debut release, the double AA sided 10” ‘Modern Sleepover / Dad’s Tired’ that set up their quirky 80s dad-funk disco Steely Dan image; the one track being about a love torn computer and the other a salutary tale of the tough game of infidelity!

On the B-side, Man/Boy featuring Girl gives Herbie Hancock’s vocoder a quick rub down on ‘It’s Only Perfect’. Dom explains, “yes it is them [Talc], apart from the ‘girl’ part obviously. Man/Boy is a side project of theirs that crosses over into disco/house areas far more than the ‘normal’ Talc material. We loved “Perfect’ so much that we had to stick it on the flip of the new single. It’s been getting rave reviews of late from Rainer Truby, Raw Deal, Russ Jones, Karen P and Alex Attias! Even the broken beat royalty are starting to get the Talc bug!”

Talc aren’t going to be everyone’s dancefloor lubrication but they’re likely to pull of something big as they’re certainly full of ideas. I’m strangely warming to these guys as Dom’s enthusiasm is rubbing off on me. The album, is provisionally entitled Sit Down Think with a planned September release to coincide with a gig at the ICA in London on Thursday 28th September.

In the meantime, Dom had to dash off to get the organised for Max Cole’s gig at Cargo this week and make sure Talc and the other recent Wah Wah 45s releases, (Sesong and Pt Time Hereos) were in all the shops. Heady times indeed for the Wah Wah 45s boys and long may it continue.

Reviewed: Various - Garden Of Dance / It’s Only Perfect (Wah Wah 45’s) Cat. No. Wah 12011 Release Date: July 2006
Tracklisting:
A. Talc - ‘Garden Of Dance’
B. Man/Boy feat. Girl - ‘It’s Only Perfect’
“One of the best tunes of summer 06. Talc really make me smile!” Nick Luscombe (XFM)

Thu 27 July, 2006 Independent Mix Max Cole and Planet Rescue live, Ben Westbeech live, DJs Gilles Peterson, Karen P, Dom Servini, Chris Wheeler Cargo, UK

Links:
www.wahwah45s.com + Sesong - ‘Love Untold/ Cold’ (Wah 12010) + PTH Projects - ‘Pretend Paradise/ Thin Air’
www.talconline.com