FAT-SUIT – Waifs & Strays

Fat-Suit are just one of many mass ensembles prominent in Scotland today, and perhaps one of the very best too if their latest album Waifs & Strays is anything to go by.

Rumblings is a perfect introduction to what the group have to offer, being an engaging number that flips up, down and all around, commencing quite lively, settling down for a milder guitar-driven middle, and gradually leading to a juicy payoff. They waste no time and kick off hot with Keo. The sax in particular is a delightful joy to the ears, plus they continuously cram layer after layer of bustling instrumentations as they go.

The Crane And The Crow is a relatively smooth going piece that is chocked to the lid with brass, but Countryside Quiet is considerably different in tone, and keeping true to the title, it’s a pretty merry, light-toned song with a touch of atmosphere as an extra booster. In stark contrast, Brum Doing A Wheelie is so jubilantly vibrant and bouncy to a point that you’d be dying to shake your hips while a big fat grin is plastered on your face.

The keys are quite nice and the bold basslines are gushingly supreme in Caretaker, and the drums come through with a fair amount of intensity as they progress towards the finish. Uh-Oh fires out the gate quickly, although outside of a few nifty spots, it doesn’t quite have the same pulse as the previous tracks. Things improve again with Mombasa, where a cool, ambient beginning transitions into another brimming tune packed with energy, and they soon wrap up with the simple, subdued Lunar Milk.

I cannot believe it’s taken me this long to discover Fat-Suit, but better late than never, I suppose. This is one of the most entertaining hours of music that I’ve experienced as of late, the majority of which evokes literal physical reactions in the most positive way possible. Not many can achieve that, so as far as I’m concerned, this is something respectably special.

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