Taking a break from his recent Bob Dylan obsession (phew), Billy Childish returns to bring us more raucous garage rock in his inimitable style with CTMF. Seeing this upcoming release, I realised that I’d missed a CTMF album in 2021, ‘Where The Wild Purple Iris Grows’, so that was a double bonus for me!

This takes up where that previous album left off, with a hectic version of Richard Hell’s ‘Love Comes In Spurts’, the second time that Billy has covered the song, but it fits well here. As does the band’s take on Hendrix’s ‘Fire’, with Nurse Julie’s backing vocals adding something extra.

That aside, we have ten new songs, three of which are instrumentals. Normally, that might ring alarm bells, but with Billy and company, it’s a treat. ‘Walk Of The Sasquatch’ is particularly fine, with the publicity spiel of Billy quoting “the North Kent Sasquatch program has gone a little quiet of late, but I believe they are still trying to get Cobham Woods – nearby across the river – to be designated as a reserve, though of course this poses some danger to the public during the spring breeding season”. I think some people haven’t noticed his sense of humour.

The title track and ‘The Old, Long Bar’ are as good as any ‘Medway garage rock’ songs he’s ever written, with ‘Failure Not Success’ there is an autobiographical lyric, similar to those on the previous album; “at twelve years old, I walked the streets in my mother’s dress”.

There are some quieter moments, such as ‘Beneath The Flowers’ and ‘Becoming Unbecoming Me’, with its Velvets-like appeal. And even the reappearance of Mr Zimmerman with ‘Bob Dylan’s Got A Lot To Answer For’ can’t spoil proceedings; a list of potential pros and cons of Dylan’s influence on music, set to a ‘Stepping Stone’ riff. Masterful.

For us fans of Billy’s more abrasive tunes, this, like the previous ‘Where The Wild Purple Iris Grows’, is an essential purchase. An eccentric, a one-off, sometimes frustrating, always entertaining. We’re lucky to have him.

Author: Martin Chamarette