Procosmian Fannyfiddlers: Happy Accident

With a long history and now ten albums under the belts, Norwegian free-thinkers Procosmian Fannyfiddle return after five years of inactivity. By their own admission (and having never encountered them before I’ll take their word for it) the band released a pair of ‘rather dark’ albums before their sabbatical. I can, with prior knowledge or not, proclaim that Happy Accident is certainly not another in the same vein. Some reviews have referenced the word ‘madness’ on numerous occasions and yet the press release prefers to use phrases such as ‘free imagination’, ‘artistic accidents’ and how they end up ‘strengthening the work’.

Hence, it shouldn’t take too much dot joining to pull from those comments that, and the name gives a clue as well I suppose, Procosmian Fannyfiddlers aren’t too concerned about rules and how to follow them. Instead this outfit’s progressive framework is there to be bent out of shape, hammered into new configurations and moulded into whatever manner the septet who create it wish it to be. In fairness all bands should adhere to that ethos, but few do and yet, would I truly want every band to approach their music with the same devil may careness that abounds here? Probably not. That however, is exactly what going on, twin violin harmonies as likely to hit home as a flute fusion or trombone trumpeting; even if more expected instruments usually lead the way. Throw words like avant-garde, art-rock and prog at the wall and they’ll all stick here as “Mullah Bullah Boogie�, “The Plentiful Frog� or “Funny How Soap Slips Away� illustrate just how close to quirky this lot dangerously veer.

It’s disclaimer time. I have a self confessed struggle with ‘the quirk’. I don’t always get on with music that blares ‘check out how zany we are!’ And yet, for the large part and even as the European humour of “Breakfast Cereal Killer� threatens to topple in on itself, the tightrope between crazy and crafted is reasonably well negotiated. What helps is that while the lyrics and vocals (most of the band have a bash at lead vocals at some point or other) can be kookie and crazy, the addition of some genuine and well placed anger, and no little insight into the human condition, means that it is a little easier to engage the inner meanings being not so widely skirted around.

Musically things are tight, if unbelievably loose, the near constant parry and thrust of “Myra The Antique� and “Caeni Scriptura (Cult Of Coal Part II)� made to feel spontaneous in a way that you know really means they’ve been worked on for an age to get results as jaggedly smooth as these. The ‘fun’ continues on into the CD booklet, with spoof solo album titles and cartoons that either revel in playful gore or genitalia, and in many ways, that, as much as anything else, gives warning of what you can expect to find here. However, for all the ‘madness’, don’t be fooled, for this Happy Accident is serious stuff and deserves to be treated as such.

Track Listing
1. The Plentiful Frog
2. Mullah Bullah Boogie
3. Myra The Antique
4. Wear It Like A Clown
5. Caeni Scriptura (Cult Of Coal Part II)
6. Funny How Soap Slips Away
7. Old Man's Computer
8. Cereal Breakfast Killer

Added: July 1st 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Procosmian Fannyfiddlers at facebook
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Language: english

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