Acoustic Ladyland - Living With A Tiger

Persistently overshadowed by their Mercury-nominated sister band Polar Bear (indeed, you may only recognise this band from their drummer's splendid afro), Acoustic Ladyland have come out swinging with a laugh of nonchalance and a roguish twinkle in their eyes. Their mix of jazz and punk attains an unpredictable contrast between sinister and jovial moods that most surf acts would kill to attain; consequently, these gritty, high-octane pieces come across like The Fall, were The Fall fronted by a slurring, drunken saxophonist rather than a slurring, drunken poet. Flirting with freak noise and outright pop, Living With A Tiger echoes the spirit of free jazz, bursting with the healthy sound of four friends making a rock 'n' roll racket for the sheer hell of it. Despite not fully sustaining its punchy and aggressive energy for the duration, the record consistently calls on the listener to get up, and get down. You'd be a fool not to.