To this split, then: Ships occupy the Session #3 slot, ‘side A’ I suppose of this fancy red vinyl. They contribute four tracks that merge into a single, nine-minute post-punk-cum-post-rock epic, spiralling this way and then that but always retaining focus. The band's fondness for experimentation - check the spoken-word aspect of the opening few minutes - ensures that the listener is forever kept guessing as to the record's eventual destination – will we emerge into the sunlit and fertile post-rock valley, or the dirty, gritty punk-rock backstreets? Still, regardless of the direction the band take in the future, these tracks serve as a timely reminder of exactly why hairs stood on end when they released their May She Marry A Ghost And Bear Him A Kitten EP. Good stuff.
Charlottefield’s ‘No Hands’ is an eight-minute romp through more traditional foot-to-the-floor, punka-rocka hammerings, propelled by the finest drummer this side of the afterlife. It lacks the immediacy of the band’s more succinct material (check their Fat Cat 7”), but is a decent curtain raiser for the outfit’s forthcoming album on Jonson Family. About bloody time, too – with luck and a following wind Charlottefield will romp to the top of the 2005 rock honours list. Get this and say you were there first.
