Wow! And I mean that in the fullest sense of the word, in that I’m pleasantly surprised at the quirky sound of the Academy Morticians. At first you think vocalist Simon’s taking the piss with his vocals but through repeated plays you realise the implicit quality & uniqueness that lies underneath and it grows on you after a while. Imagine a disturbed young kid growing up with parents that constantly play Queen & Dead Kennedys records all the time and you might understand what he sounds like. The tracks ‘Welcome To England’ and ‘It’s Not a Small World’ actually demonstrate this pretty well with bizarre melodies that include Bad Religion/ Queen style vocal harmonies with that DK punk rock backbone which makes you realise this is no ordinary band.

It’s a pity there’s no lyrics with my copy because I know Simon has his head screwed on when it comes to political issues (anyone remember his piece in Fracture fanzine #15 & #16 highlighting the dishonesty that Britain & NATO have shown during the Kosovo crisis?). With song titles like ‘This is What Democracy Looks Like’ and _‘Terror of the Tyrannical Teddy Bear’ _they look like they’d be quite an interesting read.

Probably one of the quirkiest punk bands in the UK right now so definitely worth seeing live if you get the chance.