Fresh Maggots

The duo as a functioning rock band is a relatively new trend, a trimming of the fat in favour of the tightening of dynamics. So it’s little wonder that, in the time of musical excess that was the early ’70s, a unisex duo from the UK called Fresh Maggots who came performing predominantly on gently plucked acoustic guitar and violently thrashed fuzz electric (no drums, a few dashes of glockenspiel or flute here and there) were mostly overlooked at the time. But in light of current developments (some would say "trends”), Fresh Maggots seem poised to gain new grounds of appreciation for their slightly mystic folk rock tunes, all of which can be found on this reissue, collecting their only album (originally released in 1971) with a handful of unreleased live tracks and both sides of their "Car Song” single. Simple, deep and very British (Mick Burgoyne handles the vocals, and he can’t shake his accent), Fresh Maggots’ brief folk rock ditties might be steeped in the psych-folk of the day, but their concise and fast-paced songwriting tendencies certainly make this stuff transcend its own age in a strange and wonderful way.