Speed The Day

Recorded in a brief moment of openness in the middle of a pandemic, “Speed The Day” continues the amazing run of recent Blue Orchids releases, albeit with a tinge of madness and more than a dollop of madness.

Tantalising, brilliant songs appearing out of nowhere, an album arriving, only for Martin to take unannounced leave for years, without explanation. So it’s a miraculous turn of good fortune that Blue Orchids have released as much new material in the last five years than in the thirty-six (!) years before that, even if you include Blue Orchids-buy-any-other-name combos like Thirst and Factory Star into that equation. The sterling quality and wit of those releases remains undimmed since the beginnings of the band back in 1980. Speed The Day retains the classic line-up from the last two albums’ line-up and adds electric ukulele player Tansy McNally, hailing from Australia and adding a different psychedelic lacquer to an impassioned set of nine new songs, pls an oddly paranoid cover of Chicago’s 25 Or 6 To 4, which slyly mutates lyrics about late-night songwriting into a paean to speed. (Although your interpretation may vary!) A far darker and more energetic album than The Magical Record Of Blue Orchids, their album of obscure garage covers, Speed The Day is a sterling addition to the the canon of Martin Bramah masterpieces.