The ‘90s are cool again. You don’t have to look far to see baggy shit being worn everywhere, at least. But weren’t they always cool? We had Woolworth’s and college alt-rock. Now that we need to dig up the nonchalant happy-go-luckiness about it all in these trying times, one way to retread all the catchy and noisy comfort of the time (with a pinch of today’s more sardonic misery) is with London’s C Turtle: self-proclaimed flag-wavers of ‘fuzzy jumper rock’ eschewing ‘90s cool for a new generation.
Started as a one-man show, videographer Cole Flynn Quirke began recruiting for C Turtle after meeting co-vocalist and guitarist Mimi McVeigh at a photoshoot, then bonding over cinema with bassist Finlay Burrows before bringing in drummer Jimmy Guvercin. Their mutual love for all things gritty but aesthetically striking is right here on their latest record Expensive Thrills, an effort that combines lo-fi crunch, studio-warping walls of noise, and even experimental soundscapes to mark the four piece as scene-makers in the UK’s capital.
Building on the stripped-back bedroom indie starting course Ant Farm through various EPs, C Turtle have found themselves proudly in the pantheon of recorded music for their most realised lineup and set of songs. Abbey Road needs no introduction, and its rich history seeps into this album’s best emotional bursts. The shoegazing on the title track is reminiscent of its title, bulky and brazen and bursting with vivid texture. One main gripe of the resurgence of this legendary MBV sound retread is it’s saminess, something C Turtle chooses to avoid with such short cuts as Harry Who Knew How To Fly—channelling the concept of catchy songs masked by sketchy production like Guided By Voices’ best—while Shake It Down balances Quirke’s wailing with McVeigh’s unbothered sigh-singing for a suitable clash. Plus, am I the only one that thought of Junior Senior when it started?
Either way, like the Danish duo or the Thurston Moore / Kim Gordon dual attack that defined ‘90s noise pop, the personalities of the singers shine through, popping in and out or overlapping at will. Even a squeaky duckling shouts “ten thousand!” in opener Have You Ever Heard A Turtle Sing? (and conducts most of Shooby) for an added layer of humour, something they deliver constantly through tongue in cheek throwaway in-jokes: “Contacting aliens with a phone / experiences? Zero.” Then again, there’s still a sledgehammer delivery to “Don’t drag me down… with love!” that matches the acerbic background feedback throughout.
The equally thrashy chaos of Melvin Said This builds through the capable pummeling hands of Guvercin to match scathing lines like “I think you’re done. I think you’re so dumb. I think you’re scum.”, which sounds way nicer coming from the lead duo. Even the shorter moments of calm carry their own weight as much as these more abrasive ones; Burrows’ bass slides round off the opener with a smooth wink, and plinking emo guitars repeatedly underpin the more morose “it’s all about you” refrain on Ex Athlete. On the emo subject, More Insects’ starts as a lullaby-like denouement before it erupts into cathartic screams of “there are so many tiny insects!”, doing a lot with one line as Pixies did once with Stormy Weather.
With seemingly unrelated interludes and six-minute ominous sound experiment Noise Thing (also branded Sniffing the Jesus Hole elsewhere), the left-field oddball choices manage to tie together the well-construed ‘proper’ songs while making for an experience that delights and subverts at every turn. Expensive Thrills is like a musical equivalent of a house of mirrors, extremely well suited to a sweaty club live show with fuzzed amps and playful skits, and translates strangely well to the album package. Keep your eyes peeled: C Turtle are ones to watch as they hone the interplay of their influences to develop their unique sound which, at the end of the day, is an absolute hoot.
For fans of: Feeble Little Horse, The Breeders, Hotline TNT
‘Expensive Thrills’ by C Turtle is released on 8th March on Blitzcat Records.
Words by Elliot Burr
