That twitchy quality that so clearly defines the Scattered Order sound is given the dubby treatment on Pretty Boffins. Many of the tracks here would be familiar to those who saw any of the band's live performances during 1998.

Where Chicken Hilton was a somewhat introspective studio creation, Boffins takes its multiple personality disorder out for a walk in Scat's own peculiar brand of sunshine - the kind that casts the wonkiest shadows.

D. Craig Robertson's menacingly fluid bass, Paul Doherty's cranial-enhancing guitar, Dru Jones' eerily textured array of samples and Mitch Jones' occasional, frightening melodic crooning all feature here.

Reassuringly effects-driven, the atmosphere on Pretty Boffins achieves an interesting blend of the sinister and whimsical, encompassing country swing reggae, chamber music dub, stadium rock trance and ethnic TV jingle tease.

Trompe l'oeil for the lugholes.

Who Lives in the Other One: Knackered '60s cabaret, stalked by helium menace.
Drought Crumbs: People holding a party in creeping post-slaughter wasteland.
We Love You: Got the bends? Need a spell in a decompression chamber? Try this pomp-dub instead.
Nuvo Gunk: A dreamier battle of Trafalgar, Bollywood style.
Limbo Scuffy: Forget about the eastern bloc? Not this mob. Some form of auditory hindsight.
Chop in the Whole: Trenchcoat dub in a packing case factory, with girl chorus and aviation-fuelled string quartet.
I See God: Possibly the most abrasive Scattered Order track ever. Reggae to sieve your brains through.
Alice and Ailie: The world in slow motion, as witnessed by ants.
Photosynthesise: Man stages siege in science lab with vast bunsen burner.
Left Without My Tie: What the Seven Dwarfs really did down mine.

-- Sandy Nelson
 

PREVIEW TRACKS [MP3]
WE LOVE YOU
49 seconds  490k
CHOP IN THE WHOLE
49 seconds  490k

TRACKS: Who Lives in the Other One?; Drought Crumbs; We Love You; Nuvo Gunk; Limbo Scuffy; Chop in the While; I see God; Alice and Ailie; Photosynthesise; Left Without My Tie

Produced by Tim Whitten
Recorded at Dogtrack Recorders, Sydney
CD Rather Be Vinyl PTOOIE3cd

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