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XIV: Surrounder

by George McFall

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1.
Surrounder 04:12
lyrics
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be in no doubt about the existence of others people come from roundabout just outside the centre outside of introspection, processes are in progression envelopes in circulation decomposing vegetation
2.
Autumn 04:13
lyrics
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there is no stone as deep as sleep at least not for the living no more fantasies to keep me from going where I'm going
3.
Practice 05:15
lyrics
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integrity is a disability
4.
Repetition 03:52
lyrics
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new way of wearing grey in the teeth of yesterday kids love repetition
5.
Cellular 00:41
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6.
Nargo 03:18
lyrics
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I'm in possession of a sinister engine
7.
Change 02:33
lyrics
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James talks about interest rates
8.
Remorse 05:03
lyrics
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the sycophantic daily trawl tapping into the great mundane
9.
Norman 06:12
lyrics
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falling down a manhole, hiding from my life so far the underground was derelict - essentially unpopular

about

George McFall
(AKA Clean George IV & CGIV)
releases new album 'XIV:Surrounder'

www.tenementrecords.com
www.facebook.com/George-McFall-184301958327405/
m.facebook.com/tenrecs twitter.com/tenementrecords

"an orgy of bombastic riffs and gonzo sloganeering" - Q magazine
"genre pulverising melting pot of post-punk, prog tinged, krautrock, intelligent glam rock" - Clash
"a record that is as in thrall to your more prosaic Fall line-up as it is to the ostentatious ELO long-player" - The Quietus
"wonky narco-pop" - Kerrang


“Long-awaited” is an adjective that seems to feature in all of McFall’s press releases. The Edinburgh-raised musician first came to our attention with 2007’s lauded 'First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment Of Women'; recorded under the moniker Clean George IV, a power pop retort to the 1558 polemic of the same name by the Scottish Calvinist theologian and miserabilist John Knox. The album that followed came just five years later, and won George a host of plaudits (see press quotes above). God Save The Clean established McFall as a maverick player with a streak of genius, imbuing all the cliches about potentially not living up to his promise in the process. XIV:SURROUNDER is thankfully a step forward, and incontestable proof of a very singular (and distinctly British) musical and lyrical talent.

“Activate the five year plan / On the wagon / In the can,” says George on the addictive ‘Autumn’ in his trademark east central sprechgesang. Trading under his birth name this time (in an attempt to act his age), the second album is an industrious and dense affair, both seductive and unsettling in its synthpop/prog/punk/rock/electro musical style with an overarching lyrical theme documenting a deliberate life on the line between escape and reality. It’s an intense, often dark, somewhat humorous record, reflecting a tumultuous period for its author involving deaths, romantic derelictions, lifestyle changes and severe self-assessment. “It’s a document of my attempts at overcoming self absorption, the dropping of masks, the distillation of output, the never ending battle against the traps of consumerism...” says George.

XIV:SURROUNDER was actually supposed to come out in 2014 - hence the title - but an unrelenting onslaught of both escape and reality prevented it from being finished till now.

The album was written, performed and recorded by George at his Tottenham studio. Drums were played by Murray Briggs (Oi Polloi) Stuart Bastiman (James Yorkston, Clean George IV) and Ali Moniack (Kling Klang), and recorded by Ali at his Arcadia Audio studio in Edinburgh. Additionally, the album was mixed by Aaron Cupples (the Drones, Civil Civic, Spiritualised).

XIV:SURROUNDER is an oneiric reimagining of the usual singer songwriter fodder, a mangled and mutated Burroughsian adventure that’s always as wry as it is boundlessly refreshing. Musically it never ceases to surprise either, from the bifurcated ‘Practice’ which concludes with a gleaming prog sci-fi outro, and the twitchy, pitchshifty soul glam of ‘Nargo’ (inspired by the gaming world), a track that’s so mind-meltingly original it could be be from 100 years in the future. Which should be just in time for George McFall’s next record.

credits

released February 22, 2019

George McFall - vocals, instruments/production
Murray Briggs - drums
Jan Blumentrath - additional prod
Ali Moniack - drum recording
Aaron Cupples - mixing
Tom McFall - additional mixing

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George McFall London, UK

'An orgy of gonzo sloganeering and bombastic riffs'
Q magazine

'Wonky narco-pop' Kerrang magazine

'Absurd glam' NME

'Excellent' the quietus

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