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..::: REVIEWS :::..
MUSIC REVIEW: I'M DEPRESSED
by GUMMI BAKO
Let's face it, without the odd dose of
depression most songwriters wouldn’t have produced half of their output.
Here, Gummi seems to have the bakery-related blues ("too much hot-cross
loving"), but then things take an abrupt turn for the positive as he
sings "I wanna go ballooning, right up past the Moon and Mars, and get
lost amongst a million billion trillion, zillion super-shiny shooting stars"
and you realise he has the ability to free himself from adversity through sheer,
glorious absurdity.
Milo McLaughlin, The Skinny
MUSIC REVIEW: NKD1 SPLIT SINGLE
by GUMMI BAKO / COME IN TOKYO
These two bands have previously spent time
under the Fence Collective umbrella prior to releasing this joint single on
new Anstruther label Nekkid Records.
Gummi Bako's "Dope On a Rope" is infectious alt-country with
a highly-developed sense of fun and vocals that sound at times to be attempting
to become a human banjo. Built around a simple, repetitive tune, this is catchiness
of the order that is pointless trying to resist. Come in Tokyo's "I
Won't Want You" has a faster, sparse punk sound with prominent drums and
boy/girl singing most obviously reminiscent of White Stripes.
Lorraine Douglas, Is This Music?
LIVE REVIEW: GUMMI BAKO @ Cabaret Voltaire,
Edinburgh - 20th May 2006
I make the schoolboy error of taking Gummi
Bako seriously during their opening song - a dark Johnny Cash ballad - until
Alan Stewart's voice jumps an octave and sounds like he's been
guzzling helium. From then on, it's a hoe-down rockabilly riot of cartoon
voices, squeals and growls, Chet Atkins guitar licks and propulsive, skiffle
drums from the sweat-drenched sticksman who is 1950s Americana incarnate -
brown bowling shirt, greased hair and black rimmed specs. Exuberant, gleefully
insane alt-country.
Iain Radcliffe, The Skinny
LIVE REVIEW: GUMMI BAKO @ The Swamp, Caledonian Backpackers,
Edinburgh - 18th March 2006
Gummi
Bako, are, put simply, a
country rock revelation. They're a Fence band - their leader Alan is along
with King Creosote and Pictish Trail one of the sainted three founders -
and as you might expect is an
affable chap, thanking
everyone for coming to their soundcheck, and delivering with his motley crew
a slew of Americana-tinged songs of great humour including one for anyone
who's ever fallen for a "hybrid". Alan has the appearance of a Quaker Open
University
lecturer, all shaven head and bushy beard, while his voice is comical at
times, clearly gaining its tone from a pre-show bourbon / helium gargle, and
the whole scenario leads to some bewildered
double-takes from those arriving during the set.
Stuart McHugh, Is This Music?
LIVE REVIEW: GUMMI BAKO @ HOMEGAME 2 - April 2005
If Super Shitbox rip up the Fence Collective's folk tag
and set fire to the pieces on the Saturday, another band, Gummi Bako, proceed
to
jump up and down on the
ashes at the same venue on the Sunday. Imagine Yosemite Sam trying to out-holler
Screamin' Jay Hawkins and you're about half-way to appreciating the sheer
vocal power of their frontman, Alan Stewart.
Roger Cox, The Scotsman
MUSIC REVIEW: FENCE REUNITED by THE FENCE COLLECTIVE
Proof that Fife's
what you make it. Maybe they were lonely, or seeking sympathetic ears, but
it's
good
they
found
each
other.
For while the distinctions between the hallucinogenic 'Floating' by The Pictish
Trail & Beth and the West Coast sunburn of 'I Believe It's True' by Pip Dylan
are crystal clear, the warmth of these warped alt.folk artists is as comforting
as your favourite jeans. The homespun qualities on this label showcase may
wander into whimsical self-indulgence on 'Nobody Knows / The Last Man Standing'
by HMS Ginafore, but overall it's beautiful. Highlights include King Creosote's
plaintive 'Friday Night In New York' and 'Well Hung Up' by Gummi Bako, as the
squeeky guitars and wheezing accordions all melt into a gentle, honest labour
of loveliness. 7/10
Tim Wild, NME
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