Mordecai Smyth’s recently released 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Sticky Tape And Rust on the U.K. independent label Mega Dodo offers a whopping 45 tracks. Some of the additional material involves demo or live performance takes on the originals, but there’s a lot of previously unreleased songs here as well. I haven’t had a chance to digest the expanded Sticky Tape And Rust yet, but here’s a look at my initial review from ten years back. It seems particularly appropriate around Halloween.
You’d expect to encounter a certain amount of silliness on the debut from an artist called Mordecai Smyth, and Sticky Tape And Rust offers plenty along those lines. The first act signed to the fledgling indie label Mega Dodo, Mordecai Smyth draws upon the original British Invasion, with an added dose of vintage movies and TV shows. The lyrics deal with murder, mayhem, and the supernatural, but in such an absurd way, listeners are more likely to be amused than frightened.
Georgina Jones might not be as well known to Yanks as Emma Peel, but she was also a 1960s Brit TV heroine who was as cunning as she was beautiful. Mordecai Smyth honors her with “Georgina Jones,” a Doors-like song with peppy keyboards and lines like, “Crooks and villains better watch your step” and “She’s got a beautiful way of getting under your skin.” The spirit of Syd Barrett surfaces on the satirical portrait “Herbert Frowsy,” while “Sinister Cyclist” depicts a witch who prefers casting spells from her bike instead of a broom. “All Right Now” harks back to the days of England's music halls for a bump and grind look at being a werewolf.
The off-kilter tribute “Mr. Hitchcock” uses a more modern power pop arrangement, while “Don’t Cross Colin” mixes The Undertones with The Who’s “Happy Jack.” “Almost Murder Ballad” is a dark tale of a guy whose various attempts to bump off his lover all fail until he decides to just give up, and for true romantics, there’s some innocent, old-time crooning on “I Love You.”
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