He dwelt behind the drums with melodic, acoustic-electro pop lovelies Dark Captain, and now Chin Keeler has taken on all instrumental duties for this self-recorded solo work. Nurtured in an old Victorian sewing factory in the midst of 25 or so fellow arty types, Keeler had no bandmates, virtually no serious kit and no recording studio.
And guess what? He’s seriously pulled this off, producing something appealingly out-of-this-world but grounded in catchy cosmic matter — channelling acts from Sonic Youth to Supergrass.
The warming yet jerky, kitchen-sink guitar pop of Rot In Heaven could almost be early Strokes, if they’d ditched New York for Somerset. Tracks like single Nothing Changes are similarly adorable but organic, mixing avant-pop/rock guitar jabs with seaside-evoking harmonies and fluid electro synth hooks. Things start to veer into one-spliff-too-many territory, drifting out into hazy oblivion as So Good To Be Here Again spirals softly out.
Ultimately, Chin Of Britain always hooks you in, through tight, syncopated drumming, strains of clean-cut guitar melody, or refrains like Let’s chiiiill the fuck out!. Psych is alive and well – embrace the Chin!
