I Can't Believe It's Not Reggae!

The Welsh group Fflaps had already made a notable underground mark with a stretch of releases when drummer Jonny Evans left, leaving guitarist/vocalist Ann Matthews and bassist Alan Holmes to recruit Maeyc Hewitt to fill the open slot, transform into Ectogram and, after a couple of singles on the Atol label, move to the Ankst imprint for what proved to be a truly brilliant debut album. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Reggae! has nothing directly to do with that music style per se, but it’s absolutely a showcase of the new group’s utter confidence in synthesizing any number of experimental rock approaches. The opening “Ebargofiant” alone is a blast of motorik drive crossed with Sonic Youth-style guitar noise courtesy of Matthews at its most exuberant, but the immediately following “This Is How It Is” is a drone-pop bit of delight, Matthews’s singing a counterpoint to chant-like backing vocals. Elsewhere songs merrily play with prog-friendly tempo shifts, crazed wah-wah freakouts and dreamy zone moments, all while Matthews’s vocals, a bright and often sharply cutting presence, provide a strong central core.