'Waiting for my albatross' (Insect Eye Records: SQUISH 5, UK '06) CD.
The first Reefus Moons album in 6 years after the 'wilderness' years!!
Tracklist:
Lost for Words
Sea in a Jar
A song about time
White crystal birds
The loon in the moon
Gargoyles
A certain kind of grin
Moss is on my shoes
Summer ghosts
Waiting for my albatross
'Marmalade Sun' with Suicidal Flowers (Delerium Records :DELEC CD 066, UK '00) CD. A few copies left, available from here on CD only.
Tracklist:
Marmalade Sun
Love Bomb
Mrs Orbit
Mystic Man
Solar Face
Trojan Horses
I Feel so Good
Dinosaurs Toe
Goodbye
Groovin With the Vicar
Marmalade Sun (eclipse mix)
"Reefus' surreal songwriting and DIY outlook is given a Dali-esque make-over with the help of members of Suicidal Flowers and Gods Little Monkeys. Brimming with upbeat, polished and disjointed psychy pop, Reefus revisits some old favourites ('Love Bomb', 'Mrs Orbit', 'Groovin' With The Vicar') and reveals some new classics ('Trojan Horses', 'I Feel So Good (I Think I Might Kill You)' and the eerie 'Dinosaur's Toe')...Definitely Reefus' best insect colony to date, lovers of the Soft Boys, Syd Barrett, Nick Haeffner etc should check this out!!" FREAK EMPORIUM, 2000.
'Uptight Sound from the Message Tree' (Insect Eye Records: SQUISH 3, UK '93) CD. A few copies found in Reefus's attic!
The 1st CD release which was limited to just 500 copies and as Reefus said: "Recorded on an old Tascam 388 reel to reel 8-track under the influence of confusion and several cats.'
Tracklist:
Mystic Man
Love Bomb
Life on a Razorblade
Head of Chaos
Clockwork Creatures
Acid House Sergeant
Seven of Seeds
Ghost
The Skyscraper Song
Frostbite
Uptight Sound from the Message Tree
"In one case it would go between late Lou Reed and early REM, and in the other between Monty Python and Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Both are very appropriate.' Aiden Merritt- Positive Vibrations Magazine.
"The material on here is, if anything, sharper than ever. Moons specialises in delivering poignant visions of contemporary life filtered through distorted gossamer veils of paranormal pictures. Just listen as he spouts forth on such diverse subjects as 'Frostbite', 'Life on a Razor Blade' and
'Acid House Sergeant' in his understated, underhand kind of way, each song propelled along by guitar, rhythm and keyboards and the keyboards and the Reefus Patent Insect Energizer Device, an arcane methodology but one which does seem to work. 'The melody still lingers/Like the smell of rotting apples' sings the Reefus in 'Ghost', suddenly bursting into flower with a tiny Stylophone solo which somehow fails to undermine the majesty of the composition. The excellent 'Seven of Seeds' and the equally worthwhile 'Skyscraper Song' only serve to confirm what we have suspected all along: Reefus Moons is one of the good guys.' Phil McMullen- Ptolemaic Terrascope 1993.
Originally released in 1991 on a limited edition vinyl LP.....
The Word Raven
From 'Ptolemaic Terrascope':
This second album from Reefus consolidates his gnomic position of Pretender to the Footstool of the great god Hitchcock, sat somewhat left of Marc Bolan and not a million miles from Barrett himself. Whimsical yet timely pivoted tunes that circle around a basic guitar motif with sometimes an underpinned keyboard are sung
lyrically in a poetical monotone throughout. 'Thinking of You' is a jolly little drum-coda masterpiece set against a jangly guitar rhythm. 'Gardening the Mind' electrifies your nerve-ends and the up-tempo 'Insect Rider' with its beautifully distorted guitar centrepiece sets the tone for what's to follow. The closing side-piece of 'Cormorant in Shades' is a similarly well-crafted piece of guitar anxiety. All in all, a rewarding investment that deserves to be heard- but you'll have to move fast.
Phil McMullen.
From an interview with Ivor Trueman in 'Freakbeat':
"The Word Raven": This latest LP includes a fine selection of sublime ditties, like "Raven Crauscelene" - built around a droning bass line, with Reefus enthusing over the delights of seeing the world from a crows point of view; "Salamander Raincoat" - posing questions about what would have happened if people like Jesus or Hitler had been incarnated as reptiles rather than humans; & "Cormorant In Shades" with some elegant gliding guitar. Like many of his songs "Hive", bobs along merrily, with ringing guitar and harmonic ooh's & aahs creating waves of drifting emotion. Other tracks include the love song "Thinking of You", the Barrettesque "Psyco-Gnome", and the hypnotic drone of "Gardening The Mind".
Maybe The Soft Boys grew up and had a child after all... "The Word Raven" is a welcome anti-dote for too much noise and comes highly recommended. It's a limited edition tho' so be sure and be quick - Write to Reefus at the address at the end of this article !
The best of the Acid Tape Years and other oddities. Features previously unreleased songs such as 'The River', 'Millionaire', 'Love Bugs' and the original version of 'Electric Chair'.
