Melt Yourself Down: Melt Yourself Down – review (original) (raw)

Melt Yourself Down is saxophonist Pete Wareham's mark II version of his flamethrowing punk-jazz party band, Acoustic Ladyland, now with the excellent Shabaka Hutchings also on sax. Reports say MYD are just as exhilarating live, tearing it up with young crowds even more ferociously than Ladyland did – but if you're listening at home, crank the volume up to 11. North African rhythms are an inspiration, and vocalist Gaya's bellowings in French, Creole and personal gibberish also give the band much of its helldriving character. It's about Ruth Goller's thundering bass-guitar hooks, unison sax anthems, and echo-laden vocal chanting, and jazzers will wait in vain for much in the way of solos. But the honking hook of Fix My Life, the boiling Lat-Am soup of electronics and sax wails on Release!, the blend of congas and kit-drums on world-music ballad Free Walk all come from deep live-music experiences. And if the repeated shout of "Hey!" throughout the punchy Camel isn't the most startling idea, the underlying baritone sax grunts are effective antidotes.