Something great I can almost guarantee you haven’t heard: Slack Mallard

The band, Slack Mallard, performing outdoors

Here’s something great I can almost guarantee you haven’t heard. Anti-folk busking band Slack Mallard are a brilliant bunch of “lazy ducks” from deep southwestern England. They pick up phonetically and musically where their former group Phat Bollard left off.
These rag tag lads first met in Calstock, a town by the Tamar River in the lush and wild region of Cornwall. They make their living playing street corners which they reach by travel-ling the UK in their lorries (vans), of-ten with their dogs and sometimes kids in tow.
With five excellent CDs under their belts, their latest release is a bit of a departure as the original unit, Phat Bollard, recently parted ways due to creative differences. Today, the core group consists of Adam Whittaker on guitar, Aaron Barnes on Mandolin, Brian Dunbar on percussion, and Ash on banjo. Everybody writes, and everybody sings.

Slack Mallard's latest album, Small Plot Changes
Slack Mallard’s latest album

Their most recent release Small Plot Changes speaks to the upheaval within England, global society, and perhaps the group itself. While sonically their sound is sometimes reminiscent of classic British folk groups like Fairport Convention, their politically charged and defiant lyrics place them more within the anti-folk can-non. The group’s cheeky humor and witty turns of phrase show that they’re onto something unique.
As has been the tradition on their last three recordings, the album starts with a spoken word piece penned by Ash, here called “Nothing”, which attempts to explain the disintegration of the universe all because “a young human’s love decided to go out with Ricky from #7 who everyone in the park knows is a nob.”
“Tories” dissects the hypocrisies of English elites complete with plenty of pisstaking via sound clips and cruel but well-deserved imitations of the upper crust.
“Locked Outside” is a rousing number which has the classic skiffle sound for which Phat Bollard were known. “When You’re Gone” is a droll statement on reality complete with a rousing chorus, faux lip blown horns, and a welcome swipe at our president.

And you can’t take it with it you when you’re gone
Counting on an afterlife, yet another con
And though I think that Donald Trump’s a prick
He’s just another symptom of a system that is sick

“Gospel Boat Song” is a feelgood number that speaks to the joys of floating downstream with old friends. There’s a video on YouTube worth checking out, and for those interested in purchasing the band’s music, go to:
www.slackmallard.bandcamp.com
This writer is trying to bring Slack Mallard over to the USA to tour. Any-one interested in helping can contact me at: michaelcobb70@gmail.com

Author

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

One Comment

  1. I think it is Vera Vera good. Jolly good in fact. I found myself quite beguiled by the beat. What a lot of words these boys have. I think they should get an award.

On Key

Related Posts

MUSIC: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk

Apparitions of the Eternal Earth. On their monolithic 2022 debut, Eyes Like Predatory Wealth, the Houston, TX trio Apparitions set forth a slow burn with three tracks running, in sequence, 10, 20 and 30 minutes. The fire has been spreading ever since. In 2023, they issued the digital-only Semel, with three poundingly untitled tracks, and this month comes Volcanic Reality (CD

Quinn on Books: “Lost in Love”

“Lost in Love”: Review of “Horse Crazy,” by Gary Indiana, introduction by Tobi Haslett,   Reviewed by Michael Quinn Years ago, I fell for a recovering drug addict. I met him at a funeral for a man we had both been involved with. When he caught me looking, he smiled—a slow, disarming gesture that made my heart thump like a

The Impact of 9,000 New Apartments on Red Hook: A Community’s Concerns

I’ve been trying to calculate how many new apartment buildings are needed to accommodate the 7,000 to 9,000 housing units the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) wants to add to our neighborhood to help pay for the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, the 122-acre strip of waterfront extending from our neighborhood, through the Columbia Waterfront District, to Atlantic Avenue.