Single review: BLAST OFF! by The Chronicles of Captain Zord
I like a joke as much as the next person. Well, apart from the person sitting next to me in the bus shelter yesterday. Comparing the frequency of the 144 Worcester – Bromsgrove bus to the Second Coming of Christ is just not on, apparently.
With a band name like The Chronicles of Captain Zord, a laugh is surely never far away. Indeed, one half of the band – Rich Morley – still performs in Sister Sandwich, which is a ‘comedy bread based outfit’. Anyway, what about the music – or should I say, what about The Music? The sliding guitar riff and rumbling bass on The Chronicles of Captain Zord’s debut single ‘BLAST OFF!’ give it a very pleasing resemblance to the Leeds band’s 2001 belter ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’.
A blast off can mean several things: the moment a billionaire’s vanity space project takes flight; the unfortunate aftermath of an overdose of sprouts (sorry, Gran); or a barnstormingly daft yet disarmingly funky space song by The Chronicles of Captain Zord. ‘Blast off! It’s gonna be fun!’ goes the chorus, delivered in the crackling, hectoring tone of a disembodied CCTV voice. ‘Spaceman’ by Babylon Zoo was famously only good for 35 seconds at the start and 27 seconds at the end. Not only does ‘BLAST OFF!’ have the zing and swagger of Pop-era U2 and the supersonic silliness of Hawkwind, there’s seven whole minutes of it to enjoy – no joke. ‘BLAST OFF!’ is out now on Bandcamp.
By: Neil Laurenson