Five Thirty Bed
Early 90s hopefuls Five Thirty were one of the most exciting bands to come out of the musical landscape of the pre-Britpop era. Five Thirty featured Paul Bassett on guitar and vocals, Tara Milton on bass and vocals and Phil Hopper on drums. Five Thirty came onto the scene and ripped it up blasting out a bunch of no frills punked up mod pop tunes with a funky Hendrix edge. East West signed them hoping that the bands ability at writing great tunes, and their incendiary live act, would carry them through. Five Thirty were a kick arse rock'n'roll band with a horde of ace tunes. Regardless of the minutiae of the music scene in 91, East West signed up Five Thirty and they recorded a series of great singles and the album Bed. Unfortunately Five Thirty never quite made it into the mainstream and it was all over for the band by 1992. A great shame as Five Thirty had a real ability to craft exciting energetic tunes that stand steadfast in ones memory. Even though their career was short lived, it is a real pleasure to listen through Bed once again, and Five Thirty can be proud to have left such a superb album to posterity.
impressive melody
The album opens up with the upbeat ‘Supernova' a prime slice of psyched up power pop, with a load attitude and a big melody. The shimmering guitars and sweet harmonies make this a blessed out pop tune. ‘I've seen your ego masturbating' is an example of some of their wild lyrics and adds to the quirky nature of the song. ‘Psycho Cupid' is slide guitar driven super-pop on this Small Faces style romp, with an impressive melody, great harmonies and a great soulful vocal with a melancholic undertone. ‘Junk Male' is a blues driven RnB rampage with funky rhythms and anti-religious anti-authoritarian lyrics, ‘If God were to ever come my way, I'd spit into his face, then calmly walk away, contemplating Judgement Day' . ‘Junk Male' is an anarchic song with defiant lyrics, grrrreeat. The funky-tastic ‘13 th Disciple', with its chunky rhythms, wokachikas and soulful vocals, is a tune to get your hips shaking. ‘13 th Disciple' is a great mover and shaker and the mega chorus blazes into your brain, a sweet occult transformation that takes off the top of your head. ‘Strange Kind Of Urgency' is a Kinks/Jam style whimsical pop tune with a yearning melody and sugar swirling guitar licks that opens up into a powered up chorus full of energy and passion ‘I want tomorrow today'.
wonky guitar riffing
‘You' is perhaps one of the most energetic love songs ever, with the distorted arpeggio introducing the song that blasts into full on desperation, as the lover tries to woo his muse, ‘All I want is you'. The object of his affection infects the lover's everyday thoughts and the crazed wah wah adds to the demented feel. The outro of ‘You' goes into a full on freak out, as the singer pleads ‘How Long' . ‘Songs and Painting' is an eccentric tune with jerky rhythms, clattering guitars and a funky bass. The Who style harmonies, wonky guitar riffing and crazed sound effects enhance to this oddball tune, the glory of insincerity. ‘Womb With A View' is an upbeat mod pop tune with melodic riffs from the lead guitar and a catchy surreal chorus about a womb with a view. The outro is a master stroke as a brass band plays a melodic but very melancholic end to the song.
another monster tune
‘Automatons' is a noisy raucous funky annihilation, with wheezing guitars, distorted vocals and furious energy. The unexpected Kinks style melodic chorus add to the mayhem; a wild tune with crazy lyrics. ‘Wrapped In Blue' is a total contrast to ‘Automatons', as this gentle acoustic ballad takes off into the stars with a melody to kill for. Powered up mod pop ‘Abstain' charges with a mansion load of energy and massive chords, fucking rock'n'roll, ‘I left my heart on the pavement for pedestrians like you' . The album closes with ‘Catcher In The Rye' another monster tune filled with energetic devastation and more loony wah wah as the aggressive bass and slashed out sleazy vocals end to this awesome album.
skilful song craft
The sheer breadth of style that is featured throughout ‘Bed' showcased Five Thirty's song writing talent, consummate musicianship and skilful song craft, all played with an eccentric edge and a massive amount of energy. ‘Bed' is a passionate album that the mainstream somehow missed out on, but listening to the album again reassures me that ‘Bed' is one of the greatest albums to come of the UK in the 90s. With wild wahs wahs and surreal anti-authoritarian lyrics aplenty, ‘Bed' is an immense rebellious album. You must check out ‘Bed' by Five Thirty , it is that good. Jonny Magus