CTMF- A Glimpse Of Another Time (7" Out 12th February 2016 via Damaged Goods Records)

Headlines scream of a brand new 4 track single from Billy Childish’s CTMF and it already feels like a more interesting day all round. Indeed pleasing the band hot on their heels of their recent return to live gigging comes this 7” EP featuring 4 new songs. Look out for the band at ATP 2.0 curated by Stewart Lee at Pontin’s, Prestatyn in April.

Track one, ‘A Glimpse Of Another Time’ is a song “about the scene based round Slim Chance’s Club at the Wild Western Rooms in the 1990s. (The club was out the back of the St John’s Tavern in Archway, North London, it later moved down the road to the Boston Arms). Billy’s group Thee Headcoats used to play a regular monthly stint there which explains the EP photo from 1991 of  Billy fronting Thee Headcoats with Bruce and Johnny on that tiny, legendary – wild west themed – stage. Musically guitar led, with an alive narrative, many have come to expect from the talented Billy Childish, strained vocals, heaving guitar makes for punchy manna.  What follows adds more creativity with the strong vocal for ‘Ode To Citrus Heights’ backed by the ‘SQ 1’ outside of the 60’s hushed la,la,lars a perfectly healthy outing. ‘Throwback’ is no cautionary tale, feels even more of a system of fact than anything else.

Flying in the face of someone’s imagined  fashion is something CTMF and especially Billy Childish achieves with creative aplomb, also marking a healthy discography that the 7” A Glimpse Of Another Time EP will add even more sparkle too. The 4-track release is due February 12th, hunt it down. 8.2/10

Steve Janes