If you’re going to call your band Audiobooks, you’d better have some good stories to tell. The London based duo David Wrench and Evangeline Ling have developed a unique ability to conjure up magical aural snapshots that wallop you like bong hits. Each of their discombobulating observations comes stretched out over a series of discomfiting oscillations...

On a first play through, it will come as no surprise to discover that Evangeline Ling is a 21-year-old art student and musician. This screams Fine Art project... If it were an installation you'd be forgiven for expecting to see broken dolls and things made out of bodily fluids... However, the maturity and experience of mixer/producer David Wrench means that this ends up being a well balanced affair.

The duo write and perform the music during experimental studio sessions. Talking about the album, Ling said: "I’d found myself writing these odd stories as text messages on my phone. They were too short to be proper stories… they were fragments. I’d told David about them when we met and he said, “’Come into the studio and let’s put them to music.’” The next day, we started making music."

Of this album's 13 songs (48 min, 17 sec) there's a diverse mix of styles. For those looking for a fairly straightforward (or as straightforward as Audiobooks does) 'It Get Be So Swansea' is instantly accessible, not to mention memorable.

'Call of Duty Free' brings the audiobook aspect to the fore, with Ling delivering a twisted tale while Wrench provides electronic backing. 'Grandma Jimmy' sounds like Ling is making up the story as she goes... the result is weird, but rather amusing.

The entire experience won't be to everyone's taste. The tunes are solid and the stories are mixed. Overall, it's a bizarre experience but a pretty satisfying one.

7

Nick Smithson