Flux - Uncarved Block
Originally released as a vinyl album on One Little Indian Records (TP 1) in 1986. Recreated here from a compact disc reissue in high quality lossless flac audio. The recent Annie Anxiety Bandez post results in a quick revisit to this old post.
Flux Of Pink Indians were anarcho-punks from the well-to-do Hertfordshire commuter market town of Bishops Stortford - hardly a bastion of anarchy and despair. The band gained infamy with the widely banned LP The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks on their own Spiderleg Records label. I have recollections of many an internal memo at my chain store employer covering a ban list on which the album was featured along side the collected works of Crass and Dead Kennedys. Though I was never a fan of anarcho-punk, I always considered it inconsistent censorship and double standards that the business made a substantial profit peddling soft porn and exploitation movies on VHS, whilst choosing to ban music on what really where political grounds. Whilst the album title and cover were designed to shock (a plain paper bag would have sufficed HMV), the contents (if you could ever find a copy to hear) were powerful, political, challenging and highly experimental.
Two years later, Uncarved Block appeared on the fledgling One Little Indian label (formed by Flux's own Tim Kelly) in a highly creative wrap-around envelope sleeve. Inside is a truly remarkable record on which Flux (as they were now known) had joined forces with Adrian Sherwood and Bonjo I (from African Headcharge). The three key tracks are Youthful Immortal, Children Who Know and Footprints In The Snow - everything else is built around them to produce what is a unique amalgamation of powerful rhythms, horns, guitar riffs and slap bass where the tracks blend together seamlessly by using combination of simple hooks. The closing The Stonecutter is calming, atmospheric and deep. Uncarved Block is almost tribal in places, but far too well packaged and produced to be considered crusty. Great record. As a bonus there is a little something else in the comments.
A2 Youthfull Immortal
A3 Just Is
A4 Children Who Know
B1 Backword
B2 Footprints In The Snow
B3 Nothing Is Not Done
B4 The Stonecutter
