Twisted Nerve Rec.
Toolshed -CD/2LP- (UK,2006)****'
I shouldn’t have missed this outstanding band which puzzled me at first and took away some breath and left me with a shortage of words. Toolshed were formed out of a Manchester club in 1997 by multi-instrumentalist wizard Graham Massey (808 State/Factory's Biting Tongues), with up to 14 people on stage using layers complex drumming, heavy brass arrangements, roaring electric guitars, moody jazzrock-fusion-vibed breaks with electric violin by Graham Clark (coming from prog bands Aqua & Gong), operatic range of female lead vocals (See Ming To), electronic music equipment (minimoog, Korg and others), with a range of style which is hard to count, from post-punk heaviness, of cacaphonic thickness, incredible skills on drums and rhythms using the best of jazz-rock, jazz but also electro and break beat, surf punk, Morricone-like almost orchestrated tensions, and so much more.
It was in fact through the interpretation of Sun Ra, “Love In Outerspace” which I found on one of the latest Finderskeepers compilations that brought my interest and attention to the band, for they were one of the first I heard to be able to handle the multiple complex layers of an easier melody with more complex rhythmic fundaments of Sun Ra extremely well. But this didn’t show the range of the band which is much more overwhelming and slightly perplex making and not in a negative sense, saturating at first, before being able to grasp its world of expressions. Remaining more rock than avant garde, more jazzrock than punk, and ranging beyond, Toolshed are a nice thread in a endangered complex society. Just for the rhythmic complexity in this, this needs just more than a few listens. A rewarding challenging creative force with fine musicianship. With nearly 70 minutes of music.
Other members include Paddy Steer (Homelife) Dick Harrison (Spaceheads) and James Ford (Simian).
