The Orkney Islands, off the north-eastern tip of Scotland, had
never been known for their distorted junkyard pop. Not
until the debut album by Half Cousin,"The Function
Room", appeared in 2004, inspired by the islands'
weather-beaten landscapes and off-beat characters.
Sought after singles "Half Turn/Mrs Pilling","Country
Cassette" and "The Diary Fire EP" paved the way for
acclaimed shows, supporting the likes of Hot Chip, The Earlies
and Boom Bip.
Collaborations, also, with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and
contributions to the Blank Tape Spillage Fete, all
cemented Half Cousin's reputation as something fresh
and exciting.
Kevin Cormack followed 'The Function Room' in 2007 with 'Iodine' to
great critical acclaim, with Uncut magazine saying:
"Comparisons with Syd Barrett, early Bjork or Devendra Banhart barely
do 'Iodine' justice; a thing of wild and magical beauty"
As before, junk percussion, cheap electronics and
family heirlooms prevail- but the results are far more
beguiling, detailed and, at times, euphoric.
The subject matter of small town Orcadian characters
is also more elaborate: Irish Country groupies, Rat
Pack Dads, crofters on the run from the police and
teenage pyromaniacs inhabit songs about chip shop
photography, Alzheimer's, social club show business,
absentees and mistaken identities.
Cormack's twisting melodies lead the way, giving momentum and focus to the driving ragbag collection of customized sounds. Hints of Captain Beefheart, Arab Strap, Animal Collective and even early House music emerge,
but always as part of something uniquely its own.
Essentially, it all still adheres to his original aim
of creating "short, melodic songs made from junk."
Kevin has recently contributed to the '101 Things To Do With A Dead Artist' project and was one of the 4 curators of this year's Blank Tape Spillage Fete- an ongoing project of art and music, which he also contributed to as part of I Can I Can't.
