Gordo was one of the first monkeys NASA fired into space (in a rocket of course!). Despite his nickname of 'Old Reliable', the Jupiter rocket he was in, was not. The capsule's parachute failed to open upon re-entry and poor Gordo was killed on impact, somewhere in the South Atlantic.
Parachute For Gordo have a tremendous live act - due in no small part to bassist John who is a lovely affable chap in real life but morphs into a demon-channelling maniac when he gets on a stage! Laura, guitar, is demure on the other side of the stage, whilst Johnny acts as some sort of a percussive referee on the trap set in the middle. It's a heck of an act so I was worried that their first album would just be a watered down version. Thankfully they have treated recording as an entirely different beast, and as a result this album is an absolute corker. It's a 'studio album' - no meandering and almost no shouting. So let me throw names of some other studio geniuses that sprang to mind as I listened - Slint, The Minutemen, live Soft Machine, Dif Juz, early PIL, Wire.
You can hear it below, so I won't blather on, but want you to note how the bass-led (and drum and bass-led now I think about it) passionate rampaging breaks down into areas of serenity where Laura is let off the leash with her beautiful arpeggiated webs. The second side of the vinyl is a spacerock epic which has this ascendant rush until, thankfully, the parachute DOES open for a gentle landing. The 2 digital bonus tracks are songs and reveal a sort of angular folk side that I wasn't previously aware of.
Quick mention for the stunning artwork by Karina Fraser - here she is hiding behind the gatefold FFS!
Released as a limited edition of 250 on vinyl (I know they had a shitload of pre-orders so get your skates on if you want it on vinyl), and then all the usual digital doodads. Deets are on Bandcamp (below). Now have a listen because there are plenty of lovely surprises I haven't told you about...including track 1, don't miss track 1...
Well what da ya know? Gordo did not die in vein.
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