Description
Morlock – The Outcasts (LP/CD Set black vinyl)
Cineploit: “Morlock’s The Outcasts, the sophomore album of cosmic explorations by synthesist and drummer Andrew Prestidge (Zoltan, Warning, The Osiris Club), is a deceptively accessible fusion of post-punk, electro-pop, Moog drones and Italian prog soundtracks. Blending melody and experimentation into a shifting patchwork of retro-futuristic splendour, these seemingly contradictory elements battle it out in a dream landscape of the ancient and the alien.
The influences on the record are vast and varied. As a long-time fan of electronic music, Andrew’s compositions can invoke anyone from Tubeway Army, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop or John Carpenter to more abrasive acts such as Killing Joke, The Chameleons or Cardiacs. And that’s before we get to Queen’s soundtrack to Flash Gordon…
In contrast to 2019’s debut Morlock release, ‘Ancient Paths’, rhythm and riffage is to the fore throughout the course of these seven epic tunes. Much more a widescreen version of the band and a collaborative affair, the recording took place in London’s celebrated Holy Mountain studios in the spring of 2021. Mixed in Switzerland by Misha Hering (Memnon SA), who also co-writes and adds synthesizers to a number of tracks, the production veers between the pastoral and the urban, from the roots of the Earth to the measureless depths of outer space.
The ‘Outcasts’ concept began with Andrew developing creature designs for an imaginary graphic novel. The eventual Lovecraft-inspired illustrations are accompanied by a conceptual story-cycle originating from the mind of science fiction author Matt Thompson, all produced in a lavish and limited vinyl edition. A heavyweight pressing with grooves deep enough – just – to do the music full justice, ‘The Outcasts’ is truly an object to savour.”
