Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Ralfe Band

Swords

Label: Skint Records Release Date: 24/10/2005

11667
julian by Julian Ridgway November 6th, 2005

If you call an album atmospheric it usually means it’s dull and a bit worthy but has nice guitar effects. But the Ralfe Band are atmospheric like falling asleep half drunk on a train and waking up disorientated in what might be Reading then trying to work out how to get home. If indeed that is a meaning of atmospheric. They should be the house band at the Marathon Bar, as their tangential relation to normal space and time would be perfect.

‘Swords’ is one part Syd Barrett playing eastern European folk, one part the soundtrack to an especially peculiar Peter Greenaway film, and a third part bonkers. It sounds like a direct recording of someone’s musical internal monologue. Ideas crash against each other from all angles, like ‘March Of The Pams’ which could be a Greek restaurant band being joined by Mick Green (from The Pirates, kids) and the Swingle Singers. In a good way. Or ‘Bruno Mindhorn’_ – like a narrative sketch from Jam backed by an ethereal rockabilly band.

How to describe it? Weird, occasionally disturbing, beautiful in a twisted way and very intense. It's the sonic representation of that someone you had a fling with but studiously avoided introducing to your friends. And much like that person, it could have just been a strange dream, but one that's impossible to forget.

  • 8
    Julian Ridgway's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound's Albums of the Year 2025


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing



Left-arrow

Kiss Me Deadly

Misty Medley

Mobback
11664
11666

Shooting At Unarmed Men

Soon There Will Be...

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound's Albums of the Year 2025

  • 106149
  • news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145

    news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143
  • news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141

    news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139
  • Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138

    Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137
  • Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
MORE


    news


    RIP: the Neu-Kraut scene

  • 28881
  • DiScover


    DiScover: Friendly Fires

  • 93726

    Interview


    Interview: Bjork talks piracy, punk, Lady Gaga ...

  • 79700
  • Interview


    Going Elemental: DiS Meets Sharon Van Etten

  • 106002

    Column


    Reformations, eh? - Falco on the slight-return ...

  • 97723
  • feature


    DiS meets Gang Gang Dance

  • 26689

    DiSection


    DiSection: Idlewild Hope Is Important track-by-...

  • 82554
  • feature


    Battles: Tyondai Braxton talks Mirrored

  • 22473
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND